The Labour Party (LP) has differed with the federal government over the statement rejecting report by the European Union Election Observation mission on the 2023 general election.
The EU had faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in its conduct of the election berating it for not following its own guidelines.
Labour Party national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh In a statement released on Sunday, chided the federal government’s response describing it as ‘a face saving measure.’
“The Labour Party firmly stands by the EU observation mission’s position,” declared Ifoh. He went on to assert that the government’s actions were merely an attempt to obscure the obvious truth.
Ifoh emphasised that the LP leadership was deeply dismayed by the government’s attempt to discredit the EU’s conclusion on the 2023 general election, which had highlighted flaws in the processes employed.
The EU’s chief observer, Barry Andrews, had previously voiced concerns over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) operational challenges and technical glitches experienced with the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and the result viewing portal. Andrews stated that these discrepancies had severely eroded public confidence in the electoral body.
However, the federal government swiftly dismissed the report, deriding it as a mere “poorly-done desk job.” This response from the government, according to Ifoh, represents an inadequate attempt to address the glaring issues surrounding the election.
Ifoh further stressed that the EU’s report was just one of many submissions made by international observers, all of whom had decried the outcome of the election as a sham that failed to reflect the true will of the Nigerian people.
