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• IPAC: We’re reviewing report
From Romanus Ugwu and Okwe Obi, Abuja
A pro-Tinubu group, yesterday, grounded activities at the European Union office in Abuja to demand withdrawal of its report on the 2023 general election it submitted recently.
The group specifically warned that the EU report was capable of setting the country ablaze and emphasised that the protest is to register unequivocally their dissatisfaction with the report.
Warning the EU that enough is enough, the convener, Lillian Ogbole, sad: “We will not, henceforth, condone any false report, we will not, henceforth, condone any manipulated result against our country. It has happened in the past; what we are seeing is neo-colonialism in disguise and we would not allow that.”
Chief Observer of the Mission and member of the European Parliament, Barry Andrews, in the report claimed there were violence in Rivers, Lagos, Imo, and Abia States during the campaigns and on election days.
“Overall, the widespread anticipation for well-managed elections were dashed by a flawed process leading to widespread public disappointment and concerns about increasing voter disenchantment,” Andrews said in the report.
Ogbole queried why EU should take the election report to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. “Is it there that report should be received? There are procedures and they have procedures in their counties, but when they come to Nigeria, they act out of protocol.
“We have come to register unequivocally that we are not satisfied with the report of the European Union as a matter of fact, we are of the opinion that the report is not just ridiculous but a deliberate act to spite the Nigerian entity and of course by implications, our leaders and the government of Nigeria.
“I would like to say to you very clearly that there is no where election in the world is devoid of crisis and hitches. All election in the world, both in the United States of America, in Great Britain, in Ireland and even the European Union countries, come with their peculiar problems. Nigeria is not an inception.
“Yes we are aware that the world is a global village therefore, people from different parts of the world converge in various countries during elections to monitor, observe and make presentations like the EU has done. But what we found unnecessary, what we found unworthy is the manner in which the report was made.
“The just-concluded election in Nigeria that produced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was one of the most transparent elections in the history of Nigeria,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has said it would appraise the report in two weeks.
Addressing newsmen, yesterday, in Abuja, IPAC National Chairman, Yabaji Sani, said: “We have noted the content and recommendations of the EU-EOM report and other reports and will respond as active and most critical stakeholder in the electoral process within a fortnight.
“We have put in place a committee to carry out a thorough review of the 2023 elections with a view to engender dialogue between all stakeholders on electoral reforms to achieve improved democratic practices in Nigeria.”
Speaking further, Ogbole said: “When the report came, the media was wash with the report of the EU carefully and specifically said the election was fraudulent and that the election fell short of requirements of every credible election in the world. I don’t know where that one is coming from.
“If it is the election that we were all part of, that we all fought vigorously with our lives and everything we have as patriots and as well meaning Nigerians to ensure the election held, if it is the same election that the European Union spoke about, then it means something is fishy somewhere.”
On the implications of the report, Ogbole said: “You would also agree with me that the report of the EU is enough to trigger a national problem; it is enough to trigger a national chaos, our security is at stake, our sovereignty is at stake, and our unity is at stake. Nigeria is a great country in Africa, the most populous country in West Africa and the pride of African countries.
“If EU is beginning to address our election the way it has presented this report then we are scared. We are scared not just because it is going to affect Nigeria as a country but also because it is going to affect the whole of the African countries in the continent.
“We are striving to grow, and we cannot grow in the speed that we want to grow with the kind of report we are getting from the EU.”
On their mission to EU’s office, she said: “We are here to register our grievances, we are here to tell you that as matter of urgency; the report should be withdrawn and you should come up with the report that will be favourable to Nigeria.
“How on earth can you just less than 50 people from the European Union come to Nigeria to observe an election where you have over 176,000 polling units and visited less than 1,000 polling units of election centres and draw conclusions.
“We also want to send a clear signal to EU. if there are other Nigerians they are using as scapegoats to send a wrong signal about our country, we want to tell them to stop immediately. Nigeria wants to measure up with the EU countries, Nigeria wants to be like the United States, Nigeria is striving seriously to be like every first and second countries of the world.
“We will not, henceforth, condone any false report, we will not, henceforth, condone any manipulated result against our country. It has happened in the past; what we are seeing is neo-colonialism in disguise and we would not allow that.
“We want to be a sovereign country, we want to be an independent country, independent in the true sense of it. We have a constitution that guide us, we have the constitution that set the tone and the constitution is what we must work with and work by, not with any speculations, fabrications and rumours from the international community. We are saying enough is enough.
“No man, no woman, no country compel us to vote for him. It is our right to vote for him. It is our right to vote for the candidate of our choice and that was what exactly what we exhibited in the last election. Our election we all witness was free to an extent which was almost 100 per cent free.
“It was election that was devoid of some many things we use to witness in the past. Our democracy is growing to an accelerated rate and we must warn the international community to take cognisance of that. We want to let them know that never again! Never again!! Never!!!
“The third time should they intrude in our national affair. We understand the role they play but again there comes a time where we have to stop. They should know where to stop and they should know where to continue.
They must begin to have protocols, they must begin to respect our rule of law, they must begin to respect our Nigerian people,” she said.
