The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety on Tuesday disclosed that no fewer than six million voter that turned out on Saturday, 25th Frbruary 2023 with their Permanent Voters card, PVC, were brutally disenfranchised.
It naintianed that further finding showed that average of 500,000 active voters were shut out and disenfranchised in each of the eleven States in Eastern Nigeria with Rivers, Imo and Ebonyi States as the worst hit as the poll was also brutally rigged for APC.
The group disclosed this in a statement signed by the trio of Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman, Intersociety, Chinwe Umeche Esquire, Head of Democracy) and Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire, Head of Publicity said that there was an estimated 50% PVC-holders voter turnout or intended voter turnout in each of the eleven States.
It noted that out of the three major factors that caused the massive disenfranchisement, 60% was inescapably blamed on INEC deliberately created late arrival of voting materials and staffs/BVAS failure/failure to track active voters’ names in the voters’ list, while non arrival of voting materials and staffs took 20% and election postponement 20%.
The statement partly reads, “In the whole, the Commission was responsible for 80% and sitting governors and their allied others including “Government Unknown Gunmen” insecurity and fears took 20%.
“In Anambra State, not less than 1m-1.5m came out and over half of the latter were brutally deprived voting. In Imo State where election never took place in over ten local government areas, killer activities of the “Government Unknown Gunmen” and incurable incompetence and sabotage of INEC forced over 500,000 active voters not to vote.
“In Enugu State, late arrival of voting materials and staffs forced over 500,000 active voters not to vote.
“In Rivers State, the “Nwike conspiratorial game plan” forced over 1m to 1.5m active voters not to vote. In Delta State, late arrival of voting material and staffs and rival group violence brutally delayed the poll and shut out 500,000-1m active voters.
“These are just to mention but a few. Similarly, what happened in Lagos State was an eye opener where hundreds of thousands were scared and shut out violently or fearfully from voting.
“The results declared, independently speaking, are not true reflection of the actual total that validly voted. In Ogun, FCT and Eastern dominant areas of the far North (Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, etc), the story was generally the same.”
While saying that the results’ Announced At APC World Press Conference appeared To Be Duplicated For INEC, Instersociety noted that the conspiracy between INEC and APC in the ongoing armada of presidential poll rigging brazenly came to the fore on the afternoon of Monday, 27th Feb 2023 when the APC Presidential Campaign Council held a world press conference and openly usurped the statutory functions of INEC by disclosing the “summed up results of each of the six geopolitical zones, even while boasting that “it was coasting to victory”.
It expressed shock tgat APC made the disclosure when the National Collation Center in Abuja had not announced up to five States’ results; done in clear violation of the 2022 Electoral Act as amended.
The group stressed that the despicable and desperate act of the APC further exposed its brazen conspiracy with INEC and lent credence to the fact that INEC has been announcing ‘results’ prepared for it by APC.
It added, “The brazen abandonment of BVAS/IReV and resort to manual collation is a further attestation to the above fact, even as it called on the international community like, European Union: EU, United State of America, he Unites OfUS, UK, France, Others Must Embargo Funding To INEC And rubber stamping CSOs
“The uselessness of multimillion dollar international funding supports to Nigeria’s INEC and its rubberstamping CSOs has been brought to the fore as far as the 2023 Presidential Poll is concerned.
“The funding to INEC from which rubberstamping CSOs receive substantial cuts, has castrated the CSOs, gagged and made them appendages of INEC who go about with reckless abandon, rubberstamping its roguish electoral management.
“Therefore, beyond strong condemnation of the despicable role of the Commission in the just held 2023 shambolic Presidential Poll, the authorities of EU, US, UK, France and other internationally respected Democracies and democracy funding support institutions are called upon to place embargo on funding of INEC and focus more attention on checkmating voters’ disenfranchisement especially during Continuous Voters’ Registration and Distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards in Nigeria or any part thereof.”
It called on respected international democracy actors, including 32 of them written on 10th Feb 2023 to also emphasis on full digitalization of voting process in Nigeria or dualization of same to include electronic PVC and manual PVC voting; whereby registered voters can vote from their homes or choose to vote physically at polling units with their votes count.
Intersociety further urged them to blacklist all serving Resident Electoral Commissioners and National Commissioners of INEC and the Commission’s Chairman by denying them visas and access to international engagements and recognitions, noting that its solemn prayers are as a matter of uttermost immediacy and urgent international importance.
Emphasising on the sub heading, “Brutal Rigging Of 2023 Presidential Poll: Intersociety described itself as Nigeria’s Nostradamus, as far as Nigeria’s shambolic and INEC in-house brutally rigged 2023 presidential poll is concerned, saying that ‘researchers and investigators are living and immortal seers and predictors as what they see and say today take others several months or years to understand or comprehend’.
It added, “Intersociety, therefore, saw the Nigeria’s INEC’s macabre dance and shameless display of broad day armada of electoral fraud and roguery coming to fruition.
“Apart from forensically monitoring the Commission since June 2021 when it commenced another shambolic exercise, called “Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR)’, we also make bold to say that what remains of minutest corporate integrity and independence of the Commission totally collapsed in Sept 2022 when card carrying members of the central ruling APC and integrity challenged others were presidentially smuggled in and quickly rubber-stamped by Senate as “INEC’s new National Commissioners and State Resident Electoral Commissioners”.
“These were done magisterially despite widespread public outcries; with the biased appointees appeared to have received matching orders to massively subvert the sacred electoral wishes of the Nigerian citizens in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll, which came to fruition three days ago.
“Totality of the above brings to the fore why other Government poll rigging institutions such as the Nigerian Military displayed commendable non partisanship for the first time in history during the poll.
“It must be boldly stated that the 2023 presidential poll was massively and brutally rigged in-house by INEC by many, if not most of its State Resident Electoral Commissioners (“State Returning Officers”) and others procured as “Chief Collation Officers” mainly integrity challenged academics. Others involved are the so called “INEC National Commissioners as well as the INEC Chairman with vicarious and direct liability inescapably hanging around his neck.”
Group wants Kogi West Senatorial elections reversed over malpractices
Obiora Ifoh, Abuja
A Kogi based political group has kicked against the result of election of the Kogi West Senatorial District which it said was marred by electoral irregularities even as the called for the reversal of the result.
The group, Teejay Yusuf Kogi West Campaign Organisation said that the BVAS was sidetracked and figures arbitrarily conjured leading to massive manipulations and barefaced subversion of democratic ideals in the state.
The group in a statement, said the most mindless affront to Nigeria’s democracy, barefaced irregularities and reckless manipulations that attended the Kogi West Senatorial elections have resulted into the arbitrary use of figures that do not reflect the wishes of our people as democratically expressed during voting.
In the statement issued by Hon. Hassan Salau who is the organization’s Director-General, they stressed that if the Federal Government and INEC have sufficient and genuine interest in sustaining Nigeria’s democracy, the current electoral manipulations and allocation of figures must be reversed immediately.
According to Salau, while some members of the ruling APC relied on force and undemocratic means to sabotage the election in Kogi West Senatorial District, widespread attestations of humility and long-standing genuine populist commitment worked to ensure Honourable Teejay Yusuf’s consistent success in previous and current electoral contests.
“Many infractions perpetrated by APC agents and government officials in Yagba East, Yagba West, Mopa-Amuro, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu and Koton-Karfe local government areas included serial cases of over-voting in polling units; their massive bypass or non-usage of BVAS and other gross infringement of the Electoral Act led to anarchic free-for-all in places like Olle-Oke Offin ward where under-aged children were mobilized for thumb-printing and rigging.
“The patterns of over voting in Yagba East were absolutely reckless and in too many places across the senatorial district; while several cases of over voting were cancelled, there was widespread bypassing of BVAS which gave room for further manipulations and conjured figures that yielded very faulty results.
“Aside from recording numbers above that of accredited voters, there was simulated violence in Kotonkarfe local government area solely for the purpose of scaring voters away and results in several areas were not uploaded, contrary to INEC’s published guidelines and the provisions of the Electoral Act,” he stated while giving insight into the electoral malpractices in Kogi West Senatorial District.
“Nonetheless, we join other Kogites to further applaud Honourable Teejay Yusuf’s meritorious populist representation as a three-term member of the House of Representatives who brought an unprecedented spate of community development projects and populist empowerment; for this, we shall ensure a resolute opposition to saboteurs of democracy who appear bent on truncating the peoples’ choice.
“First, our people raised alarms with allegations of over-voting and attempts by some government agents to manipulate figures in some polling units, wards and local government areas.
“Truly, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; voters’ quick response and objections against manipulations by those who wanted to cheat Hon. Teejay Yusuf led to immediate cancellation of results in Iyah Unit (Otu Ward), Iyah Ayeh Ward, units in Yagba East, Yagba West, Mopa-Amuro, Kotonkarfe and Lokoja as well as one polling unit in Ekinrin-Adde ward and notably, an attempted manipulation of figures was instantly tackled.
“INEC’s Electoral Officers allowed major infarctions in the electoral process that led to over-voting; by arbitrarily ensuring a faulty process of bypassing the use of BVAS, multiple voting, with alleged cases of under-aged children doing thumb printing in classrooms occurred and INEC had no sure result to upload because of its personnel’s opaque avoidance of BVAS and lack of transparency.
“Also, a state Commissioner was alleged to have ambushed INEC officials who were taking results of Kotonkarfe local government area to Lokoja, the state capital but the will of the people must prevail towards the eventual reversal of current travesties in favour of Honourable Teejay Yusuf’s clear emergence as our Senator, “ he added.
