#NigeriaDecides2023: Aggrieved Candidates Should Approach The Court ― INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally addressed the backlash trailing the ongoing collation of the 2023 presidential election results.

KanyiDaily recalls that the People Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) had accused the INEC of violating the Electoral Act by going ahead with the result collation and announcement despite not uploading the results on the INEC Result Viewing portal.

Following INEC’s refusal to acknowledge and act on the observations and demands on Monday, some opposition parties including PDP and LP staged a walkout during the collation of results at the National Collation Centre in Abuja.

Reacting to the development on Monday, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi urged political parties to allow the conclusion of the electoral process and if not satisfied, they could approach the court.

Oyekanmi insisted that contrary to the insinuation that the 2023 elections were rigged, the results emanating from the states point to a free, fair and credible process.

He also faulted calls for the resignation of the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, saying there are procedures for aggrieved parties or candidates to follow when they are dissatisfied with the outcome of an election.

“The call by the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Democratic Party on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to resign is misplaced. The allegation by Dino Melaye that the INEC chairman allocated scores to parties is unfounded and irresponsible,” Oyekanmi said.

“At the same time, contrary to the insinuation by both parties, results emanating from the states point to a free, fair and credible process.

“There are laid down procedures for aggrieved parties or candidates to follow when they are dissatisfied about the outcome of an election. Such procedures do not include calling on the INEC chairman to resign or for the election to be cancelled.

“To be sure, aggrieved parties are free to approach the courts to ventilate their concerns and wait for the matter to be resolved. Making inciting comments capable of causing violence or unrest is unacceptable.

“The 2023 general election processes are in their final stages of completion. It is only fair for aggrieved parties to allow the conclusion of the process and approach the courts with their evidences to pursue their cases.”

KanyiDaily recalls that INEC had promised before the elections that the results from polling units would be uploaded immediately to its central server, iRev, for quick collation of the results.

However during the election, the BVAS were said not to have been working and the results were collated manually, causing many to doubt the authenticity of the results being released by the electoral body.