- Campaign DG says it would be “totally unacceptable but a perfidy and global disappointment, if these elections do not conclude on free, fair and acceptable terms
As voting ends in most polling units in Nigeria’s Presidential and National Assembly elections, the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (LP-PCC) has protested the “organized violence” and “disenfranchisement of voters” especially in the commercial city of Lagos, the home State of All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Director General of LP-PCC, Akin Osuntokun, said in a Press Conference at the campaign headquarters Abuja that it is clear that there were serious security lapses despite the deployment of soldiers and Police.
Decrying the “systematic” organized violence and disenfranchisement of Labour Party, candidates and supporters, Osuntokun expressed regret that restricting the mistakes the Labour Party is more than incompetence and makes the party cynical about the neutrality of INEC in the conduct of free and fair elections.
The Campaign DG said the Obi-Datti campaign organisation has to alert Nigerians and the international community on the “very serious reports of organised violence, voting and election irregularities and malpractices, and systemic disenfranchisement of voters, which are causing disruptions and truncations, and intensely threatening the credibility of this much awaited elections.
“Let us itemize generally these violations: The omission of Labour Party logos from the ballot papers and by implication, the omission of validly registered Labour Party candidates, in many states, but especially in Lagos, Ondo, Enugu, Bayelsa, among other locations across the country.
“Verified reports of very serious and widespread violence from organised thuggery and intimidation, at many locations across the country, particularly in Lagos and Rivers State, unleashed on polling stations across the country, including the snatching of BVAS machines, snatching of ballot boxes, destruction of voting materials, and the infliction of serious injuries, on voters and officials.
“We have various video reports available, and reported in the media, where thugs of opponents’ political parties have directly, entered the polling unit and threatened voters, on the basis of ethnicity and political affiliation to comply with their choice, or leave the polling station or otherwise be harmed.
“Non-arrival of election materials and officials, late arrival of election materials, and incomplete supply of election materials, in locations around the country, especially in Labour Party strongholds.
“Difficulty of voters, in locating polling units, with voters moving from polling station to polling station, and losing active polling time, in the process
“Absence of names on INEC register, and non-recognition of PVCs by BVAS machine.
“Ladies & Gentlemen, we must stop here, to underline the danger, which these incidents pose to the lawful conduct and conclusion of these elections, and the acceptability of their final outcome, not just by our Party, the Labour Party, but by the generality of Nigerians.
“While we remain confident of the overwhelming prevalence of our supporters, we hereby with the highest level of seriousness, and alarm, call upon the INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu and the Commission, as a whole, to announce measures, immediately, to remedy these excessive anomalies, correct these errors in the field, and restore fast waning credibility to this ongoing process.
“Nobody must be disenfranchised, under any circumstances, in this election.
“We also call on the Inspector General of Police, the Military Chiefs of Staff, and the Director of the State Security Services, to put into action, the heavy deployments, which they had assured the country, were already and effectively in place, for this election.
“It will not only be totally unacceptable, but a perfidy and global disappointment, if these elections do not conclude on free, fair and acceptable terms, or if violence is triggered from its mismanagement, or escalated from the organized actions of thuggery and violence.”
- A stitch in time, will save nine, the authorities must act now.
