Labour Party demands cancellation of election results in trouble spots

The Labour Party has demanded the cancellation of polling units where voter intimidation, violence and other electoral offences marred Saturday’s governorship and house of assembly elections.

The LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, made the call in a statement on Saturday night in Abuja.

Abure also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to fish out police officers who helped politicians to undermine the elections.

He alleged that incidents of ballot box snatching, voter intimidation, and vote-buying were recorded in Enugu, Edo, Rivers and Lagos, among others.

The statement read: “The leadership of the Labour Party has watched with trepidation the ongoing rape of democracy in Nigeria as being supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Today, the INEC led by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has clearly proved to the world that the outcome of the February 25 presidential election which denied the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the victory which Nigerians graciously gave him was not a ‘glitch’ as infamously claimed but a well-orchestrated plot to favour a particular political party and candidate.

“What transpired today across the nation was a complete sham as serious thuggery, violence and suppression of voters prevailed unchecked. People were prevented from going to vote for candidates of their choice, especially when they perceive you are supporting the opposition party.

“There were also incidents of ballot box snatching, intimidation of voters and high level of vote buying. These electoral crimes were very visible in Rivers, Lagos, Enugu, Edo, Delta and several other states.

“There was also a high level of voter apathy apparently because people have lost faith in the electoral process. They sincerely believe that it was not worth it after what happened on February 25, where the mandate given to the LP was stolen.

READ ALSO: SERAP condemns Nigeria’s elections, demands release of detained politicians

“People believe that their votes will not count anymore. So INEC has succeeded in mismanaging all the gains that we have made in the electoral reforms.

“The Rivers State government used the state officials to harass voters. In Enugu, one of our supporters was shot and the entire Enugu North senatorial zone was invaded by thugs. In Lagos, the APC-sponsored thugs invaded polling units where our candidate has huge supporters. In Edo State, the thugs had a free day, unleashing maximum violence. It is very chaotic across the nation and it is very unfortunate.

“Security agencies look the other way when there is violence. It is very apparent that even security agencies are equally compromised. We are very far from true democracy. The wishes and aspirations of the people have been defeated. What we have in Nigeria is a civilian dictatorship.

“We, therefore, condemned the entire process and called for the cancellation of results from the polling units where voter intimidation and other forms of crisis were witnessed.

“We also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rein in the Inspector General of Police to fish out all the officers that have compromised in today’s election and mete appropriate sanctions.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now