EU Report Confirms Presidential Election Rigging – Atiku’s Aide

Phrank Shaibu, a member of the team supporting Atiku Abubakar, the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed appreciation for the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) and its recent report on the results of the previous general election.

“Even primary school children who did not vote know that INEC failed woefully and that Tinubu rigged the last election,” Mr Shaibu said.

“The presidential election was held on February 25, 2023, and yet as of July 2, 2023, the result of the presidential election has not been fully uploaded. This is despite the fact that this election was the most expensive in the history of West Africa.

“How can an election in which the full results have not been fully uploaded after nearly five months be described as credible by any sane human being?”

He said it was hypocritical of the Nigerian government to receive millions of dollars from the EU as election funds and then turn around to claim that the EU has no right to comment on the election.

“The EU said in September last year that it budgeted 39 million euros for Nigeria’s 2023 election. Most of the funding went to INEC as election support.

“The EU not only provided training for INEC staff but also donated equipment only for INEC to conduct a shambolic poll. So why would Alake claim that the EU has no right to speak when it was the largest single donor to INEC? Mr Alake should rather be quiet rather than try to defend the indefensible.”

In its comprehensive final report released last Tuesday, the EU-EOM highlighted enduring systemic weaknesses exposed by the elections, indicating a pressing need for legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.

The mission’s chief observer, Barry Andrews, specifically criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the operational challenges and glitches encountered with the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and the result viewing portal.

Mr. Shaibu expressed concerns about the credibility of the last election, emphasizing that the electoral commission had not provided a satisfactory explanation for the delayed upload of the complete results on its viewing portal, even five months after the conclusion of the polls.