Protesters yesterday stormed the streets of Benin City, Edo State over the declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the winner of February 25 presidential election.
The protesters who started in Upper Sakponba, Ikpoba Okha local government area was later dispersed by a combined team of the police and other security agencies.
The leader of one of the protesting groups (Concerned Citizens of Edo State) Comrade Shadrach Udugbai said there are some persons within the Nigerian political block that have turned themselves into principalities and have continually perpetuated all manner of political crimes, raping Nigerians of their right to choose who governs them.
“We have suffered enough and cannot fold our hands to watch this rape on democracy, there are some persons within the Nigerian political block that have turned themselves into principalities and have continually perpetuated all manner of political crimes, raping Nigerians of their right to choose their leaders.
“There is hunger in the land, there is double digits inflation, there is insecurity. Everything starts with getting a good leader and it must be done conclusively. I want INEC to go back to the Electoral Acts that states that before you will be declared as the president of Nigeria, you must secure 25 percent in 2/3 of the 36 states and the federal capital. We are dejected and utterly displeased and need INEC to redress this.”
Also, Comrade Christopher Ojeikhere said, the act by INEC declaring a man who did not win the 2023 presidential election the winner is the height of injustice.
“The act by the Independent National Electoral Commission declaring a man who did not win the 2023 presidential election as the winner is the highest form of injustice.
“This has disenfranchised Nigerians and we want it to be on record for Nigerian people to know, it will be on record for our unborn children to know. It will be on record for democrats all over the world to know that there was a rape of democracy today,” he said.
On her part, Comrade Gift Ajayi said the people were tired of the situation in Nigeria.
“We don’t want ‘Baba-blue’, we don’t want a town hall different from baba-blue, they should give us back our mandate, everyone is tired of what they have done. We are calling on INEC to restore our mandate.”
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