Few days after President Muhammadu Buhari made that heavily flawed and erroneous remarks on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election where he claimed that the opposition parties lost the presidential election due to their “overconfidence, complacency and bad tactical moves,” it is hearth-wrenching to hear the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, still progressing with that warped, illogical and incongruous concept.
We would rather not join issues with a man who is famous for constantly prescribing doses of expired and ineffectual propaganda to Nigerians. His ill-fated and hugely failed trip to United Kingdom and United States where he attempted to redeem the grossly battered democratic credentials of this present administration; spending millions of tax payers money to defend an indefensible action is yet another tragedy of President Buhari’s 8 years leadership.
It is only the blind that will continue to insist that the 2023 presidential election which was massively rigged was free, fair and credible. As we have said earlier, the opposition political parties lost the election because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC jettisoned the electoral act, having not uploaded the result from the polling unit in real time as promised and in so doing, created room for riggers to have a field day.
The election witnessed unprecedented magnitude of violence, ballot snuffing, snatching and manipulations of result from the collation centres using thugs, security agencies, which included police, army amongst others.
All these issues and a lot more were captured, well documented and have been taken to the appeal tribunal and the matters are on going. Mr. Lai Mohammed need not preempt the tribunal as his actions are contemptuous and could be used against him.
We just want the honourable Minister to know that by rigging the 2023 general election, himself, his party, All Progressives Congress and the leader of the party, President Buhari have murdered sleep and they do not deserve peace.
Obiora Ifoh
Acting National Publicity Secretary, LABOUR PARTY
30- 04 – 2023