The Labour Party has said that President Muhammadu Buhari took Nigeria’s electoral process many years backward in the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
The party stated that the president was playing the devil’s advocate in the statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu, that opposition parties lost the 2023 presidential election because of “overconfidence, complacency and bad tactical moves.”
LP in a statement by acting National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh, said the elections were characterised by violence, ballot box stuffing and snatching, as well as manipulation of election results in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) abandoned the Electoral Act as it failed to upload election results from the polling unit in real time, as it promised Nigerians, and in disregard to the laws guiding the elections.
This it alleged, gave room to massive rigging, as witnessed during the elections.
According to the LP, what played out during the supplementary governorship election in Adamawa State on April 15, “was a microcosm of what played out all over the country during February 25 and March 18 elections.
“Why the case of Adamawa was given huge publicity and attention was because of the involvement of an INEC National commissioner who was a victim, thus forcing INEC to take prompt action.”
LP described the conduct of the 2023 general elections as the worst in the country, adding that President Buhari failed in his promise to Nigerians to leave of legacy of free, fair and credible elections.
It accused security agencies of collaborating with the ruling APC to subvert the will of the people to elect president of their choice.
“The APC candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu didn’t win the February 25 presidential election. President Buhari is aware of this fact. Labour Party won the election but was brazenly stolen by APC,” the party asserted.
