Apex-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has faulted the 2023 presidential election, describing it as the worst ever conducted in the history of Nigeria’s democratic process.
The body said it rejected the results of Saturday’s poll released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying they were not the true reflection of the people’s will.
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The vice president of Ohanaeze, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, who made the position of the body known in a statement stressed that the body was shocked that despite the public outcry by Nigerians across the country, INEC still went ahead to release “results that were doctored” to favour a particular party.
He highlighted that the group was grossly disappointed in INEC, indicating that the group rejects the outcome of the election.
His words, “With voting and declaration of results over, other processes will follow. I am sure that many Nigerians will, on their own, go to court to challenge the outcome of the exercise.
“Many people have not accepted the declaration and many do not believe that they have a President-elect yet.
“This is the worst election conducted by INEC. Imagine our President, Muhammadu Buhari, saying during one of the campaigns that Bola Tinubu is the next president at a time the election had not been conducted, which was an indication that the election was even rigged before it was conducted.
“The INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood was busy promising Nigerians that their votes would count and that the votes would be transmitted from the polling units to the INEC server, only for the commission to do everything manually with the attendant corrupt practices.
“As it turned out, many Nigerians voted, but their votes did not count, which was frustrating. If the LP goes to court, all the ugly things done during the February 2023 presidential election will be exposed for the world to see,” Okeke-Ogene stated.
“Nigerians are now more determined to take back their country and Ohanaeze believes that they will succeed. With what happened in states like Lagos, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna and other places, it is obvious that Nigerians are no longer talking along tribal inclinations,” he said.