Victor EzejaObi-Datti Media Office has criticized the report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) which predicted that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal is likely to uphold the declaration of Bola Tinubu as winner of the last presidential poll.
EIU which in its latest report projected that the tribunal won’t overturn Tinubu’s victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also predicted that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi would emerge a formidable force in 2027.
Prior to the February 25 presidential election, the EIU had projected that Tinubu would win the poll.
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“Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, won the February presidential election with only 36.6 per cent of the vote. The result is being contested in court, but EIU does not expect it to be overturned. Mr. Tinubu prioritised winning the Muslim north, and calls for secession from the Christian-majority south will grow louder,” EIU said in its latest report.
Reacting to the report, the Head, Media, Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation, Diran Onifade, described it as a “jaundiced” one and a “transactional work poorly done.”
It accused EIU of doing the bidding of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by pushing a political position that favours the ruling party and wondered why it should engage in such a prediction given its reputation.
Part of the statement reads: “We find the report as yet another transactional work poorly done. We are taken aback that after a long silence, it is most appalling that a highly reputed analytical entity will engage in such a counter-intuitive prediction.
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“Every foreign and domestic observers’ report classified the election as egregiously flawed. Such contentions are sufficient grounds for the upturning of the election results by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) as sufficient evidence was provided to prove that the election was substantially flawed and did not meet the acceptable standard for a credible election.
“For the EIU to predict otherwise seems utterly self-serving, and scripted to meet the political needs and aspirations of APC, the possible facilitator of the report.
“This EIU prediction is beyond partisan; indeed it is most disturbing and unacceptable.
“By this jaundiced report, the EIU via subterfuge is trying to pre-script a judicial outcome by front-loading its proffered narrative.
“It is clearly obvious that this EIU prediction is a paid-for-advert that canvasses the position of one party among many that vied for the presidential elections.
“Even though the EIU also referred to the APC reform agenda losing momentum, Nigerians are not deceived that such analysis is by any means altruistic, when clearly it is the other way round. It is very doubtful that the EIU would endorse the incredulous and shambolic conduct of INEC, had it happened within the United Kingdom or the European Union territory.
“Attempting to score cheap points with the passive mention of Mr. Tinubu’s low popularity at 37% of 27% voter turnout does not sufficiently capture the widely held view of proven election irregularities like never experienced in Nigeria’s history. Moreover, to opine that the Judiciary would do the unthinkable in the face of proven irregularities while it expects Mr. Tinubu’s reforms agenda to lose momentum, given his fast eroding low-level political capital, goes to show how much value the EIU places on Nigeria as a whole, along with its Judiciary. We reject such a damnable doctrine full of inconsistencies.
“While the EIU presumably might not mind ending up on the wrong side of events, we ask that it should henceforth endeavour to be impartial in its commentaries on Nigeria, or simply put up and shut up.”
It maintained that the report is not in the interest of Nigeria and is therefore inconsequential to the outcome of the petition pending before the tribunal.
The campaign organisation urged EIU to “stop staking their reputations” by making such prediction and should remain impartial in its “commentaries on Nigeria.”
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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