Victor EzejaThe United Action Front of Civil Society has condemned the protest by the All Progressive Congress (APC) at the premises of the European Union Mission in Abuja.
The United Action Front of Civil Society is the umbrella platform for organised Civil Society on issues of Governance and Democracy.
In a statement signed by its Head, National Coordinating Centre, Olawale Okunniyi, the group said the protest against the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) over the report of their independent evaluation of the 2023 general election is uncalled for, adding that it affects the image of the Bola Tinubu-led administration as one that is not cut out for “decent civil engagements as manifested its sponsored protest against the EU and its warning to the EU and other foreign countries ‘to steer clear of internal affairs of our country and allow Nigeria to breathe.”
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The Civil Society coalition maintained that the EU-EOM report reflected what really transpired during the elections and should not be jettisoned by the APC the President’s supporters.
Part of the statement reads: “The United Action Front of Civil Society, the umbrella platform for the organised Civil Society on issues of Governance and Democracy strongly considers the combative reaction of the Tinubu-led Presidency over the recently released report of European Union- Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) as panicky self-indictment.
“The frenzy and undiplomatic attack and sponsored protest against the European Union for making known its impartial observations of the flaws and criminality that characterised the February 25 Presidential Elections in Nigeria was a clear demonstration of bad faith.”
The group accused the Tinubu-led regime of being “palpably troubled by the burden of the flawed mandate it currently presides over,” adding that the action reflects “bare-faced hypocrisy”
“The leadership of the organised Civil Society strongly condemns the combative posture of the new administration, whose handlers are regrettably unmindful of the responsibility and decency require of the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It reeks of bare-faced hypocrisy for the Tinubu administration to accuse the EU of attempting to ridicule the Nigerian electoral system and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), when in actual fact the Election Observers Report of the EU only partly captures the widespread flaws majorly orchestrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress during the February 25 Presidential Elections as well as the rescheduled Governorship polls held March 18, 2023.”
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The group commended the EU-EOM for coming up with the report which according to it, revealed the irregularities that characterized the 2023 general elections.
The EU-EOM, Barry Andrews, Chief Observer, recently presented the final report on the findings of the observer mission, about the February 25 and March 18 elections.
“We maintain that the final EU Election Observers Report on 2023 General Elections presented by Barry Andrews in Abuja calls for sober reflections as Nigeria can only ill afford to thread the ugly path of under-performance by INEC coupled with the interference of the incumbents in future elections,” the group stated.
It further accused President Tinubu and his supporters of displaying insincerity by pretending that the last election which brought him to power was credible and making attempts to witch-hunt the EU Election Observation Mission for taking its stand on the election driven by the benchmark of international standards for judging credible elections.
“It smacks of arrogance for the presidential handlers of Senator Bola Tinubu to castigate the EU that partnered and heavily funded INEC in the process leading to 2023 polls. The presidency was only hiding under a finger by condemning the EU-EOM report which clearly speaks to what the world already knew about the shortcomings of the 2023 polls,” added.
“The United Action Front of Civil Society takes exception to any form of subtle or naked threats to Nigeria’s foreign partners, especially those who have supported Nigeria in the decades of our tortuous journey towards a stable democracy.
“We insist that the report of the EU-EOM clearly affirms the views and position of an overwhelming majority of Nigerians as well as the global community of partners and allies that the process and outcome of the 2023 presidential elections fall short and below the standard of credible elections.
“We maintain that the EU-EOM report speaks to the collective concerns of genuine democrats whose expectations of fair, free and credible polls were aborted by the failure of INEC to deploy its highly romanticised technology for the transmission of election results from the polling units to its portal in real-time. The failure of INEC to adhere to its own guidelines set for the 2023 elections as well INEC desperation to hurriedly declare a winner when the relevant criteria for doing so have not been met further buttress conspiracy and flaws which the EU-EOM report established,” the statement added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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