...As IPAC expresses confidence in Commission
Omeiza Ajayi & Favour Ulebor, Abuja
Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has expressed the readiness of the commission to review the 2023 general elections as demanded by some political parties “where absolutely necessary”.
The Peoples Democratic Party PDP and Labour Party LP had on Monday led some opposition parties to demand that the election be reviewed midway into the collation of the presidential results.
Yakubu had declined the request, on the grounds that the law was clear that the collation process has to be completed first before any process for review can be undertaken.
However, at the resumption of the collation exercise on Tuesday, Yakubu said he will stick to the law.
“In accordance with the new Electoral Act particularly under Section 65 of the Electoral Act, we will review the election where it is absolutely necessary”, he declared.
IPAC expresses support
Earlier, the Inter-Party Advisory Council IPAC had expressed support for the commission, urging it to not accede to the request to halt the process.
IPAC chairman, Yabagi Sani who spoke on behalf of the parties at the National Collation Centre , however acknowledged that there were challenges, but added that they were not enough to truncate the process.
He said; “We are here with most of the members of the council. We are here to express our delight that this process should continue, this is because when democracy fails, political parties are the first casualties and the politicians are the biggest losers.
“Democracy is crucial to the people of this country and we believe that the elections are the fundamental pillars of our democracy. So the mere fact that we held this election amid the current circumstances, we need to congratulate this country.
“We are not been mindful of the challenges in the country, but the commission and political parties experienced some of the unexpected development. From our findings, it is not uncommon to experience such in any technology usage.
“We believe that we are at a crossroads but Nigerians are highly resilient.
“Democracy is a journey and the journey so far we have to congratulate ourselves because Nigeria matters in things globally. We should sum up the courage to conclude this process.
“It is not that we are happy or we don’t understand the pains of our people but in a democracy according to the popular maxim ‘the show must go on’ not that we just wanted to have this as a show but this country is a country of greatness.
“Mr Chairman my members are here to encourage you to go ahead and ensure that the process is concluded and concluded well.
“Some of our members who have issues can now do what the constitution made provision for, which is to seek redress.
“So we want to say because of this country and the importance of this process to our country of course without prejudice to the position some of our members must have taken but we must be on the side of history that this process is concluded and Nigeria becomes greater”, he stated
On his part, National Chairman and Presidential Candidate of Zenith Labour Party ZLP, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, cautioned against burning down the country for partisan interests.
“We have passed through many elections and I must say that there is no where in the world were there are no problems, not even in the US.
“Without prejudice to whatever challenges, we must not burn down Nigeria. Nigeria must exist first before we can become whatever we become.
“In this election, there were no problems with BVAS until the end of the election and it worked well throughout. it is the best option to go.
“So, go ahead with the process. We are confident with the process. Nobody should crucify the INEC chairman”, he declared.
