In a surprising twist, President Bola Tinubu has firmly rejected the report presented by the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU- EOM) in the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, Premium Times reports.
His dismissal of the report raises questions about the reasons behind his outright rejection and highlights the lack of evidence provided by the EU to question the integrity of the election outcomes.
Despite concerns raised by the EU, President Tinubu remains convinced of the credibility of the election.
The EU- EOM’ s final report, released last Tuesday, acknowledged the commitment of Nigerians to democracy during the elections but also pointed out enduring systemic weaknesses. The report highlighted the need for further legal and operational reforms to improve transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.
It noted that shortcomings in electoral laws and administration had hindered the conduct of well- run and inclusive elections, resulting in a erosion of trust in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The general election took place in February and March, with supplementary elections held in April. Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner of the presidential poll by INEC on February 25.
He emerged victorious after defeating 17 other candidates and was inaugurated as President on May 29. However, his victory is currently being challenged in court by the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
President Bola Tinubu’ s rejection of the EU- EOM report was expressed through his spokesperson, Dele Alake, in a statement released on Sunday.
According to Alake, Tinubu and his team categorically rejected any suggestion that the election was fraudulent. They believe that the EU- EOM report was based on a poorly conducted desk job that relied heavily on a few instances of skirmishes in less than 1, 000 polling units, disregarding the overall integrity of the election where millions of Nigerians cast their votes.
However, President Tinubu’ s criticism of the EU- EOM report has drawn widespread criticism from Nigerians. Many individuals took to social media to express their discontent with his rejection and questioned his credibility.
Some accused him of arrogance and disrespect, highlighting that his response was far from what Nigeria deserves. Others emphasized that Tinubu should speak for himself rather than claiming to reject the report on behalf of the entire nation.
It is evident that Nigerians have diverse opinions on the matter. Some argue that the election lacked credibility and referred to it as a charade or incredible rather than credible.
They find it incredulous for Tinubu to deny any flaws in the election.
Source: Premium Times
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