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By Chukwudi Nweje
The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) USA, yesterday, tasked the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) to show proof that results it declared for the February 25 presidential election are in conformity with the extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and International Human Rights Article 25 norms of free, fair, transparent, and safe elections.
The group in a statement by its General Counsel, W. Bruce DelValle, said it was committed to the enthronement of the true tenets of democracy in Nigeria, chief among them the conduct of credible elections.
“Let us be perfectly clear, all NADECO demands is proof of the announced INEC results in conformance with existing Nigerian law and International Human Rights Article 25 norms of free, fair, transparent, and safe elections. NADECO wants to see true tenets of democracy entrenched in Nigeria’s democratic processes, and Nigeria, being restructured with a constitution approved by the citizenry and the 1960 dream of a true federal republic made real. NADECO’s message is good governance and credible elections in Nigeria through the rule of law and true democracy,” it said.
The group stated this in response to a statement credited to former Lagos State Commissioner for Information, and a spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Dele Aleke describing the group as launching a nefarious agenda in the US and affirming that the presidential election results declared by INEC have come to stay, and that nothing can change that fact of history.
The NADECO counsel however said the organisation is not a splitter group and that it would continue to fight for the truth in NIgeria as it did in 1993.
“NADECO is pushing the truth forward and the truth shall set the people of Nigeria free. NADECO prevailed once before and enthroned true democracy in Nigeria. History is bound to repeat itself…NADECO is going to continue what it did on June 12, 1993, and that is to stand for free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria. For the record, NADECO USA is not a splinter group, nor its executive director, Mr. Lloyd Ukwu an impostor, as alleged by Mr. Dele Alake. Ukwu is the Executive Director of NADECO in Washington, D.C. USA. This is a position he has held for years. This can be verified, both by Dele Alake’s principal, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the United States Government, and the District of Columbia’s government.
“NADECO’s message is loud and clear to Nigerians, at home and abroad, and to the international community that the just concluded presidential election on February 25, 2023, that produced Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect, who happens to be one of our former member, was shamelessly flawed, and short of NADECO’s democratic ideologies, and international best practices and standard.”
Also former Head of NADECO, North America, Chief Raph Obioha in a statement, yesterday, knocked Alake for describing Ukwu as an impostor.
He said Ukwu was a major pillar in the NADECO struggle when the group had no money, donated a befitting office space and funded costly outreaches to many countries.
He said it was a gross injustice to the contributions of Ukwu to the struggle of NADECO to suggest that he or the group by their recent complaints about the conduct of the just conducted presidential election, were working for Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi.
“We are working for the enthronement of true democracy in Nigeria based on the popular will of Nigerians as expressed through free and fair elections,” Obioha said.
