The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop the ongoing collation of 2023 presidential election results and cancel the exercise for a fresh one.
The NNPP, which said its members were disenfranchised with their logo blurred on the ballot paper, also accused President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, violated the Electoral Act 2022 by campaigning on the day of the election through the display of ballot papers in order to show ghe candidates they voted for.
NNPP, which thanked all Nigerians especially their teeming youths for supporting their party, said it was concerned that going by what happened during the conduct of the elections on Saturday, INEC has taken the country back to pre-2015 era, where ballot box snatching, violence, vote buying and security agencies supporting the ruling party was the order of the day.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the National Chairman of the NNPP, Prof Rufai Ahmed Alkali, said the elections should be cancelled while a fresh one is organised.
“INEC used the most blurred image of our logo in the ballot paper that did not reflect the symbol of our party. Many of our party supporters could not identify the logo. They not only confused our supporters, but disenfranchised them.
“On election day, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami were seen on election day showing Nigerians which party they should vote for.
“Campaign on election day amounts to causing a crisis since the electoral act says the ballot is secret. Campaign on election day is illegal based on the electoral act.
“This illegality done by the president and the minister of Justice on election day speaks volumes,” NNPP said while calling for the cancellation of the election results being announced by INEC.
On the conduct of the elections, Alkali said in spite of the Naira swap policy, vote buying was more, adding that in every electoral ward in the country, people were seen sharing money and raw food, and other inducements.
“In the majority of the polling units, BIVAS failed and some did not work and people were not allowed to vote. In most places, ballot boxes were stuff with ballot papers.
“Where BIVAS worked, there were attempts to change the results of the election,” Alkali said, adding that political parties were told that elections will be transmitted electronically.
“We were told election results will be transmitted electronically, but the ruling party and their candidate rejected it and INEC refused to upload the results in most of the polling units and election results were intercepted.
“To save our democracy and our country, the present election results must not be accepted by Nigerians and by all friends of
Nigeria.
“We are therefore calling on the immediate suspension of the announcement of result and the cancellation of the 2023 presidential election across the country. New election should be conducted as soon as possible,” Alkali said.
Speaking on the announcement of Ibrahim Shekarau as the winner of the Kano Central senatorial election in Kano State, Alkali said Shekarau left the party but unfortunately, he was returned by INEC as Senator-elect for Kano central.
“We are not supposed to talk on this, but Shekarau accepted to join our party, we accepted him, he got a ticket to run for the Senate seat in Kano Central, but he later wrote to our chairman that he has resigned from the party. Another primary was conducted and Sani Hanga emerged but INEC did not accept his name, we went to court and won the case, they went to Supreme Court. INEC is not a political party, why go to the Supreme Court? I know that in the court of public opinion, there is a place of morality. We are at the Supreme Court on the Shekarau case,” Alkali stated.
