Coalition of Civil Society Organisation and Political Parties of Good Governance Thursday demanded the immediate withdrawal of the European Union Observers Mission released last Tuesday on the just concluded 2023 elections.
The Coalition which led a protest to the European Union Office in Abuja expressed displeasure over the reports, saying it was capable of setting Nigeria on fire.
TheHintsNews reports that the EU mission in its report faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the operational challenges and glitches experienced with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the result viewing portal, saying the discrepancies severely damaged public confidence in the electoral body.
Reacting to the report, the Presidency said the yardstick and assessment of the EU Mission cannot determine the credibility and transparency of the country’s elections.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the protesters, Lillian Ogbole described the report as ridiculous and a deliberate act to embarrass Nigeria and its leaders.
She maintained that there was nowhere in the world that election is devoid of crisis and hitches.
Ogbole stressed: “We have come to register unequivocally that we are not satisfied with the report of the European Union as a matter of fact.
“We are of the opinion that the report is not just ridiculous but a deliberate act to slide the Nigerian entity and of course by implication our leaders and the government of Nigeria. We are all Nigerians here.
“I would like to say to you very clearly that there is no election in the world that is devoid of crisis and hitches. Every election comes with their peculiar problems. Nigeria is not an inception.”
“Yes we are aware that the world is a global village, therefore, people from different parts of the world converge in various countries during elections to monitor, observe and make presentations like the EU has done. But what we found unnecessary, what we found not worthy is the manner in which the report was made.”
The protesters stressed that the report was enough to trigger a national chaos, and out the sovereignty and the security of the country at stake.
The protesters were of the opinion that the 2023 elections was one of the most transparent elections in the history of Nigeria.
Ogbole added: “We were taking back When the report came, the media was awashed with the report of the European Union carefully and specifically saying that the election was fraudulent; that the election felt short of requirements of every credible election in the world. I don’t know where that one is coming from. If it is the election that we were all part of, that we all fought vigorously with our lives and everything we have as patriots and well meaning Nigerians to ensure that the election held; if it is the same election that the European Union spoke about, what we read then it means that something is fishy somewhere.”
The protesters stressed that the report was enough to trigger a national chaos, and out the sovereignty and the security of the country at stake.
They called on the EU to urgently withdraw the report and come up with another report that would be favourable to Nigeria.
The protesters were of the opinion that the 2023 elections was one of the most transparent elections in the history of Nigeria.
Ogbole added: “We were taking back When the report came, the media was awashed with the report of the European Union carefully and specifically saying that the election was fraudulent; that the election felt short of requirements of every credible election in the world.
“I don’t know where that one is coming from. If it is the election that we were all part of, that we all fought vigorously with our lives and everything we have as patriots and well meaning Nigerians to ensure that the election held; if it is the same election that the European Union spoke about, what we read then it means that something is fishy somewhere.”