The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have asked the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, to step aside.
The three parties in a joint press conference
on Tuesday, in Abuja, alleged that the February 2023 presidential and NationalAssembly elections were marred with violence, rigging and intimidation of
voters.
The parties demanded the conduct of fresh
elections.
“We are therefore constrained by this
development to state that INEC compromised the integrity of this election even
before collation commenced at the polling units.
“Section 60 sub-section 5 of the Electoral
Act says that the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including total
number of accredited voters and the results of the ballots in a manner as
prescribed by the commission.
“A failure to comply with the provisions of
the Electoral Act and the guidelines makes it imperative that all results
recently uploaded on the IReV portal must be updated before they are announced.
“INEC went back on that promise…This election
is not free and far from being fair and transparent.
“We shall not be part of the electoral
process currently going on at the National Collation Centre and we demand that
this sham of an election be immediately cancelled.
“We also call for a fresh election to be
carried out in accordance to the laid down INEC procedure.
“We therefore call on Yakubu to step aside
from his role,” the LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, who delivered the
position of the three opposition parties, said.
The parties asked Yakubu to step aside from
his role as INEC Chairman for a “credible personality” outside the commission
to take his place and oversee the process that would be acceptable to all
stakeholders and will restore the confidence of the international community,
the democratic process and institutions.
“We have a responsibility to the millions of
Nigerians who put their faith in us and our presidential candidates to defend
our country from the forces that seek to tear us apart,” he added.
The parties therefore called on the
President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to stand by his promise to
Nigerians to leave a legacy of a free, fair, transparent and credible election.
Abure said, “President Buhari, this is the
time of great test of your integrity, use your office to save Nigeria from this
electoral mismanagement and save your legacy.
“We call on Nigerians to join us in defending
the democracy of our country.”
Present at the press briefing alongside LP’s
Abure are the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu; as well as their ADC
counterpart, Ralph Nwosu.
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