The Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria, GCSDN with headquarters in the United States of America, wish to solemnly make these statements in connection with the fraudulent Presidential elections conducted by Mahmood Yakubu and his cohorts at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The 2023 Presidential elections mark the 30th anniversary of the annulment of the June 12 elections of 1993 by retired General Ibrahim Babaginda and his gang members. Since then, our elections have been hugely challenged. This time around, we call on Nigerians to say: Never Again! We have seen the violence meted out by the political terrorists of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lagos state and other parts of the country against helpless Nigerians in order to intimidate and disenfranchise the people. We have seen the video of how the political terrorists of APC attacked Jennifer Seifegha, at the Nuru/Oniwo Ward, Polling Unit 065, in Surulere Lagos, while she was waiting to cast her votes. With blood and tears dripping down her cheeks, she returned to cast her vote after medical treatment.
We have seen the intentional side-tracking and hijacking of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, by INEC against the electoral law which mandates it to transmit the results of the elections directly from the polling units onto the server. INEC consciously refused to provide the password of the BVAS machines to electoral officials to upload the results. INEC hoped that the results would be changed at collation centres. Did we need collating centres if the results were configured to be uploaded electronically from polling units?We have seen how the autocratic Governor Nyesom Wike allegedly masterminded the violence and manipulation of election results which marred the Rivers state elections, as his desperate way of sustaining his political relevance.
We have seen the video of Joseph Salami, the Chairman of Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, caught on camera as he brazenly destroyed uncounted ballot papers with votes for opposition parties to APC. At the same time, police officers stood by to supervise the insanity. We have seen the duplication of results between the Gombe and Bauchi states as fraudulently uploaded by INEC. We have seen how, in a hurry to convince and confuse Nigerians, INEC fraudulently uploaded many controversial results such as the ones from Lafia, Nasarawa state for Ikota Housing Estate, Eti-Osa and Security Post, Ikota Housing Estate, both in Lagos state. After four years of preparations, insidious assurances, and over N350 billion spent on INEC to conduct this election, materials arrived late in many polling units and elections eventually went into the night. Sadly, INEC turned our elections into child`s play. We have seen under-aged voters registered by INEC and allowed to vote in northern states such as Kano. The Police stood by and did nothing. The same INEC that hurriedly insisted on deadlines and prevented seven million Nigerian adults from completing their registration for voters` cards.
Fellow Nigerians, this election was manipulated when INEC intentionally frustrated Nigerians from collecting their Permanent Voters Cards. It was rigged when we started seeing thousands of PVCs hidden in drainages and thrown away on the streets. It was rigged when retired Muhammadu Buhari boasted in their campaign rallies that he would hand over power to Bola Tinubu. Thereafter, Buhari displayed his ballot paper after voting, as a last way of campaigning for Tinubu on election day, against the rule of law. In 2019, President Buhari threatened that ballot box snatchers would be shot at sight. The threat scared opposition parties and in that election, APC had a field day snatching ballot boxes. In 2023, Buhari pretentiously promised free and fair elections. Thereafter, General Lucky Irabor, the Chief of Defense staff promised that every election thug would have a bloody nose. Unfortunately, on election day, security agencies abandoned their statutory duties and left helpless voters to be attacked by thugs and political terrorists while they destroyed election materials.
Youth Corpers have been brutally attacked in Rivers state for not agreeing to fraudulently change election results. Another Youth Corper, Police officers and a Professor were caught changing results and thumbprinting on ballot papers. Is this the preparation INEC budgeted for? On the other hand, why should the company of Senator Sani Musa of APC be the contractor to supply election materials?
Fellow Nigerians, we agree with the reports of the international observers that the elections were deeply flawed. In the midst of the aberrations, INEC released the election results very early in the morning of 1st March 2023 and hurriedly presented certificates of return on the same day. It is an insult to Nigerians for INEC to declare Bola Tinubu as the winner of the fraudulent elections. INEC has taken Nigeria back to the years before technology. INEC scammed Nigerians. They sold our country for personal gain. The election was rigged because INEC refused to accurately spend the money released to them despite their inflated budgets on paper. In light of the above, GCSDN wishes to conclude as follows:
1). We reject the results of the 2023 Presidential elections which fraudulently declared Bola Tinubu as the winner.
2). We shall support every legal action geared towards reclaiming the mandate of the Nigerian people.
3). We shall support all forms of non-violent protests geared towards restoring the votes of the Nigerian people.
4). We call for the resignation of Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of INEC and for him to be prosecuted for treason.
5). We call on Mahmood Yakubu and INEC to refund unspent monies budgeted for the Presidential elections.
6). We call on the international community to equally reject the result and refuse to recognize Bola Tinubu as the democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
7). We request for forensic examination of all ballot papers as documents of litigation in order to return the mandate to the rightful winner.
8). We call for the arrest and prosecution of Police officers and other security agents who were involved in electoral malpractices.
9). We call for the arrest and prosecution of Joseph Salami, the Chairman of Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, who dipped his hands into ballot boxes and tore the votes for opposition parties before votes were counted.
10). We call on Nigerians to publish and send us the names and addresses of any political thug within their vicinities.
11). We call for the arrest and prosecution of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state in relation to the violent and fraudulent roles he played during the Presidential elections. Many youths lost their lives during the political rivalry between Wike and Amaechi Rotimi. We shall not allow Wike to continue with this impunity.
12) We call on the incoming 10th National assembly to pass a law that will remove the power of the President to appoint the INEC chairman, EFCC chairman, IG of police and the Minister of Justice.
13). Finally, we call for a digital revolution. Concerned Nigerians and those that are ICT experts should publish and send us information about incriminating telephone calls, fraudulent bank transactions, hotel meetings, suspicious geolocations, CCTV recordings of meetings and hotel accommodations, sensitive e-mails, acquired properties, and other helpful information concerning the National Chairman of INEC, all the officials of the ICT department of INEC, National Commissioners of INEC, the 36 Resident Electoral Commissioners of INEC, State Returning Officers, INEC contractors and other politically exposed persons who between 1st February 2022 and 28 February 2023 have participated in corrupt or violent activities that have led to compromising our elections.
Fellow Nigerians, elections are the cornerstones of democracy and we must all stand firm to protect the soul of our country. We must not allow a few persons to bring further disgrace to our country through their criminal structure of impunity, violence and fraud.
Enough is truly enough.
God bless GCSDN. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Disclaimer:
The opinions and views expressed in this write-up are entirely that of the Writer(s). They do not reflect the opinions and views of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or any of its employees. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of materials herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or its employees concerning the legal status of any country, its authority, area or territory or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Equally, the sketches, images, pictures and videos are gotten from the public domain.
