The Presidency has rejected a final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission (EU-EOM) on the 2023 general elections, accusing the regional group of bias as it allegedly relied on social media commentaries and opposition talk heads to arrive at its submissions.
The EU-EOM in the final report on the exercise that it presented in Abuja on Tuesday, said the general elections did not ensure a well-run transparent, and inclusive democratic process as had been promised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The EU-EOM held that public confidence and trust in INEC were severely damaged during the presidential poll and were not restored in state-level elections, leading civil society groups to call for an independent audit of the entire process.
“The widely welcomed Electoral Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) introduced measures aimed at building stakeholder trust. However, the Act’s first test in a general election revealed crucial gaps in terms of INEC’s accountability and transparency, proved to be insufficiently elaborated, and lacked clear provisions for timely and efficient implementation”, the report presented by its chief observer, Barry Andrews, said.
In its response to the Observer mission’s position, the Presidency in a statement issued on Sunday by Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President (Special Duties, Communications and Strategy), maintained that the presidential election won by President Bola Tinubu, then the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was credible, peaceful, free, fair and the best organised general elections in Nigeria since 1999.
It said the EU-EOM or any other group did not provide substantial evidence that is viable enough to impeach the integrity of the 2023 election outcomes.
The Presidency pointed out that the Group did not even have enough observers on ground to provide adequate coverage to the 176,000 polling units in the country, noting that local observers, ECOWAS and the Commonwealth Observer groups, scored the conduct of the exercise high.
It said the country has moved beyond the elections while those not satisfied with the outcome were already challenging it in court.
The Presidency also averred that Nigerians are happy with the actions taken so far by Tinubu to redirect the country to the path of fiscal sustainability and socio-economic reforms.
According to the statement by the Presidency, “We find it preposterous and unconscionable that in this day and age, any foreign organisation of whatever hue, can continue to insist on its own yardstick and assessment as the only way to determine the credibility and transparency of our elections.
“Now that the organisation has submitted what it claimed to be its final report on the elections, we can now categorically let Nigerians and the entire world know that we were not unaware of the machinations of the European Union to sustain its largely, unfounded bias and claims on the election outcomes”.
“There is no substantial evidence provided by the European Union or any foreign and local organisation that is viable enough to impeach the integrity of the 2023 election outcomes.
“It is worth restating that the limitation of EU final assessment and conclusions on our elections was made very bare in the text of the press conference addressed by the Head of its Electoral Observation Mission, Barry Andrews”.
While addressing journalists in Abuja on the final report, Andrews noted that EU-EOM monitored the pre-election and post-election processes in Nigeria from January 11 to April 11, 2023, as an INEC-accredited election monitoring Group.
In the words of the Presidency, “As a country, we have put the elections behind us. President Tinubu is facing the arduous task of nation-building, while those who have reasons to challenge the process continue to do so through the courts.
“In just one month in office, Nigerians appear satisfied with the decisive leadership of President Tinubu and the manner he is redirecting the country to the path of fiscal sustainability and socio-economic reforms.
“We urge the EU and other foreign interests to be objective in all their assessments of the internal affairs of our country and allow Nigeria to breathe.”
More Stories
Reason Obi canvases vote for UK Labour Party against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
EFCC’s witness says N35bn found in Mompha’s accounts, narrates involvement of FBI in investigation
Ex-Naval Chief Alison Madueke seeks court declaration barring Diezani from using his first and last names