As Nigerian workers
celebrate May Day today, the organised labour and civil society group called Labour and Civil Society Front have, also known as Citizens Democratic Movement, called on the judiciary to redeem its image by ensuring that justice is done over the ,2023 general election, as it begins sittings on election petitions before it.
They said, the 2023 elections in the country was a harvest of fraud and a show of shame that can not be accommodated by any democratic society.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero who spoke during the press conference organised by the group in conjunction with labour in Abuja yesterday, said the judiciary needed to be rescued to do justice to the election matters before it.
According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disappointed Nigerians by conducting a fraudulent and unacceptable elections in the country.
The NLC president said the onus is now on the judiciary to do the right thing by restoring the confidence of the people.
Ajaero who said the labour Union will not close its eyes in the face of injustice, said the workers will continue to fight for their rights, no matter the intimidations by the enemies of Nigerians.
earlier, while briefing Journalists, the co-convener of the group, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo expressed worry over the handling of the 2023 elections in the country by INEC, saying that the judiciary has the duty to bring hope back to the people.
She urged Nigerians to still believe in the powers of the judiciary to do justice to the election petitions before it.
The text of the press conference titled: The threatening Decomposition of Democracy in Nigeria, and the Urgent Need for Citizen’s’ Intervention, in the Defence of Nigerian Democracy and in Solidarity with Nigerian Workers, reads:
“The 2023 General Elections have taken place but its ripples and aftermath for our promising democracy have been worrisome and frightening.
“Some of us, who are architects of Nigeria’s current democratic experience, being human rights leaders, political rights advocates, progressives, civil society and labour movement activists that fought the military for the restoration of democratic governance in Nigeria, have watched with utter astonishment, how the processes and procedures meant to consolidate our 24 years of democratic wins have been greatly eroded through the 2023 general elections.
“We entered this season of elections with a strong consensus by Nigerians that the New Electoral Act 2022 will improve the level of electoral accountability and that the huge financial investment of about N355 billion in electoral processes (involving the deployment of Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) technology), will make a marked difference to the elections.
“Sadly, the 2023 general elections became an anti-climax, dashing the hopes of Nigerians for credible elections and denying citizens the emergence of qualitative political leadership across Nigeria.
“Clearly, INEC in cahoot with some members of our political class have driven a death nail into the democratic experience of most Nigerians thus leaving the electorate despondent to resort to self-help in their effort to salvage whatever is left of their vibrant political engagement with the 2023 elections. Unfortunately, majority of Nigerians, especially the youths who fought with patriotism to reset their country through the ballot box, are now wondering if elections have not become the tool for legitimizing the corrupt takeover of Nigeria.
“This dark cloud of angst arising from a terribly mismanaged 2023 General Elections has jolted the confidence and hope of many Nigerians, thus propelling us as *Citizens of Conscience* to take the bold step of beginning to resist and mitigate the intended and unintended crisis looming over our dear country.
“We recall the hard-earned democratic reputation of many seated here today, who organized in the early 1990s through actions of coalitions of citizens’ groups, labour and human rights organizations for an end to military dictatorship.
“Their voices held sway as they resorted to citizens’ actions, demonstrations, strikes, global solidarity action and other civil resistance measures to compel the regimes of Presidents Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha to concede to the wishes of the citizens.
“From all indications, the 2023 General Elections has become a rude reminder of how quickly things can degenerate and that the emergence of what was then termed ‘gun powered democracy’, through which incumbent military regimes manipulated political processes to transmutate themselves into ‘elected democratic’ governments, has given way to corrupt money powered imposed rulership, using the trajectory of democratic processes and elections to capture and perpetuate themselves in power.
“In what we see as a democratic redemptive mission, We the Vanguards of concerned citizens and democrats; with a front seat in the history of democratic transitions in Nigeria, are committed to ensuring that political leadership is not foisted on the country at the expense of the democratic gains made so far.
“As a first step, we have decided to signify our public displeasure at INEC and those behind the political coup against the well-laid out and established electoral norms and standards contained in the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022”, .
Continuing, Toyo unbehalf of the group condemned the outright manipulation of the electoral process and abdication of responsibility by INEC as it has not only destroyed trust in the democratic process, but has rewarded wrongdoing, making it possible for persons of stupendous wealth, who lack legitimacy, to become the real beneficiaries of our electoral process .
She said, “Prior to the 2023 general elections, INEC showed early signs of inconsistency by shifting electoral deadlines, which favoured the ruling party. INEC also discouraged new voters from registering through an abrupt decision to halt the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR).
“And as if that was not enough, INEC deployed technical personnel manning sensitive positions to non-technical roles, thereby interrupting the seamless and effective deployment of technology in the elections.
“As a decoy, INEC initially displayed a high level of preparedness during off season elections in Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun governorship elections. INEC’s use of technology in those elections gave Nigerians reason to believe that technology will apply in the subsequent 2023 General Elections thereby causing Nigerians to be caught off- guard.
“Though not unexpected, INEC and Security agencies failed to act when in some areas, such as Lagos, attacks on non-indigenous groups wanting to vote were unleashed by the ruling party.
“Similarly, the use of hate speeches and other criminal behaviours were treated with levity, thereby incentivizing the subsequent use of electoral violence, brigandage and outright impunity during the 2023 elections.
“To give one graphic example, the LP Senatorial Candidate for Enugu East was brutally attacked, set ablaze and murdered a few days to the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly election with little or no consequences.
“On 25th February as well as 18th March 2023, INEC operations were poorly carried out (see reports of various observer groups) as deployment of election materials to polling units witnessed deliberate lapses, while security personnel could not contain the criminal activities of well-armed thugs that took over some strategic polling units in violation of the Electoral Act 2022 and the 2023 Election Guidelines.
“These weaknesses were further worsened by huge and open enticement of voters with cash and gifts by political party operatives in the full glare of security operatives.
“Additionally, the speed with which INEC and its officials were willing to disregard the provisions of Sections of the electoral act 2022 and their own electoral Guidelines to hurriedly announce election results, not minding the fact that the processes were severely undermined, gave grounds for deep concerns.
” For instance, Sec 60(5), and 149 of 2022 Electoral Act and Clause 38 of INEC 2022 Guidelines and Regulations for Conduct of the 2023 General Elections were ignored and manual accreditation of voters for both the presidential and governorship elections were endorsed thus opening the floodgate for the destruction of the sanctity and credibility of the 2023 elections.
“The most phenomenal failure by INEC was her refusal to upload the presidential election results from BVAS unto IREV at real time as stipulated by the Electoral Act 2022, as contained in INEC Guidelines for the 2023 elections as repeatedly espoused by the INEC Chairman .
“This happened even as the NASS elections conducted at the same time and on the same day were seamlessly uploaded, while INEC was unable to upload results of the Presidential elections as required by the law.
“These blatant inconsistencies by INEC in applying different electoral standards in conducting same day elections for Presidential and National Assembly elections point to a deliberate manipulation of NEC’s well publicised Guidelines, which INEC mindlessly replaced, opting for administrative arbitrariness.
“In summary, Nigeria suffered a monumental reversal in her electoral and democratic gains through the criminal mismanagement of the electoral process by the INEC and security agencies, who both compromised their duties and donated their power of election refereeing and law enforcement to unscrupulous politicians bent on imposing their self will over and above that of the people.
“A brazen and most shameful example was seen in Adamawa, where INEC emboldened by its many earlier infractions, decided to go for broke, by declaring Senator Binani as winner of an unconcluded governorship election”,.
On the way forward, Toyo said, “As Vanguards of Nigeria’s democratic heritage, we are calling for a return to a *RULES BASED DEMOCRACY* in which Nigerians can remain hopeful that their sacrifices of participating in elections will ultimately count.
“Therefore, as affected individuals and parties resort to the court as the main conflict resolving mechanism. We hope that the judiciary, as the final Arbiter, will ensure that the malfeasances of those powerful individuals and their corrupt allies will not be rewarded but rather, they will be discredited and punished.
“It is in the light of this hope, that we are calling on all Nigerians to *BELIEVE AGAIN* (not in INEC, not in the Executive but in the Judiciary) and give the Judiciary the benefit of doubt. In the same vein, we are calling on the Justices of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to rise up to the occasion by restoring the people’s confidence in the processes that were abused by INEC and also stem the deep decline of our democracy”, .
