The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, says he will prove to Nigerians that he won the presidential election conducted on the 25th of February, 2023.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC conducted the election while disregarding the electoral act and its own guidelines for the conduct of the elections.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, Obi said he will explore all legal avenues to recover his mandate, adding that the rascality will not stand.
He assured his supporters to remain calm, come out and vote on March 11th.
On his faith in the court, Obi said he’s not a stranger to the court as he has been there since 2003 and has recovered her mandate.
Asked if he’s fighting anyone, Obi said he’s challenging the process of a fraudulent election.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, will be addressing a world press conference shortly.
The address will be coming 24 hours after the Mr Bola Tinubu was unceremoniously declared as the president-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Valentine Ozigbo, Special Adviser to Mr Peter Obi confirmed this in a short statement obtained by News Band Newspaper.
He said, “Good day.
“This is to invite your media outlet to a World Press Conference hosted by His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, holding as follows:
“Venue: Plateau Hall, Transcorp Hilton, 1 Aguiyi Ironsi St, Maitama, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), Nigeria’s leading independent research and investigative, democracy, human rights, rule of law and public security and safety advocacy/not-for-profit Organization has responded swiftly to the armada of electoral fraud that characterized the 25th Feb 2023 Presidential Poll by identifying, naming and dragging forty-four top INEC officials that vicariously or directly involved in the INEC in-house brutal rigging of the 2023 Presidential Poll to 31 key foreign missions in Nigeria, representing the world’s best and most powerful Democracies. Also dragged to the 31 globally respected Democracies are four conspiratorial Govs in Nigeria. The 31 international Democracies written to include: the Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria/ECOWAS and Ambassadors or High Commissioners of US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, State of Israel, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Czech, Portugal, Norway, Finland, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Australia, the Vatican, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico. The letter was dated Wednesday, 1st March 2023.
Those petitioned against for their vicarious or direct liability are Prof Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s National Chairman and the following fourteen serving or immediate past National Commissioners of the Commission-with their States of origin: Retired Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Mua’zu (Gombe), Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu (Delta), Dr. Adekunle Ladipo Ogunmola (Oyo), Mallam Mohammed Kudu Haruna (Kano), Ukegbu Nnamdi (Abia), Retired Major Gen Abubakar Alkali (Adamawa), Rhoda Gumus (Bayelsa), Sam Olumekun (Ondo), Barr Festus Okoye (Anambra), Kunle Ajayi (Ekiti), Muhammad Kallah (Borno), Dr. Baba Bila (North-East), Prof Sani Adam (North-Central) and Prof Abdullahi Abdu (North-West). The 31 respected international Democracies called upon, were humbly requested to slam visa ban and other inter-country entry restrictions and block international engagements and recognitions in their names particularly those involving the National Chairman of INEC (Prof Mahmood Yakubu), the National Commissioner for Voter Education who doubles as National Commissioner for Anambra, Imo and Enugu (Festus Okoye Esquire). The letter seminally and conscientiously raised against them was for their vicarious or direct involvement in widespread voter suppression and brutal subversion of the sacred electoral wishes of Nigerians during the INEC in-house brutally rigged Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Election.
Named, too, in the letter are 37 serving or immediate past 37 State Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) with their States of origin: Ibrahim Abdullahi (Adamawa State), Obo Effanga (Cross Rivers), Agboke Olaleke (Ogun), Prof Sam Egwu (Kogi), Onyeka Ugochi (Imo), Muhammad Bashir (Sokoto), Prof Ayobami Salami (Oyo), Olaniyi Ijalaye (Ondo), Muhammed Nura (Yobe), Zango Abdu (Katsina), Dr. Elizabeth Agwu (Ebonyi), Agundu Tarsoo (Benue), Yomere Onitsemlebi (Delta), Prof Yahaya Ibrahim (Kaduna), Nura Ali (Kano), Agu Uchenna (Enugu), Ahmed Garki (FCT), Hudu Yunusa (Bauchi), Prof Uzochukwu Chijoke (Anambra), Abdulganiyu Raji (Oyo), Risikuwa Shehu (Sokoto), Bello Mahmud (Zamfara), Nentawe Yilwada (Plateau),Umar Ibrahim (Taraba), Mustapha Zubairu (Niger), Asmau Maikudi (Katsina), James Apam (Benue), Godswill Obioma (Abia), Olusegun Agbaje (Lagos), Dr. Cyril Omorogbe (Edo State), Baba Yusuf (Borno), Dr. Uthman Ajidagba (Kwara), Yahaya Bello (Nasarawa), Dr Emmanuel Hart (Rivers), Mohammed Ibrahim (Gombe), Mahmuda Isah (Kebbi) and Dr. Adediran Rahmon Tella (Osun). Two key Directors of INEC: Engineer Paul Omokere (Director of ICT) and Dr. Lawrence Bayode (Deputy Director of ICT) are among those blacklisted and petitioned against.
The vicariously or directly culpable four Governors petitioned against for their conspiratorial roles in the brutal voter suppression and INEC in-house presidential poll rigging are Govs Nyesom Nwike of Rivers State, Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State. While three of them (Wike, El-Rufai and Umahi) will lose their office immunities in less than three months (29th May 2023), that of Imo State will be facing a crucial governorship poll in Sept 2023 or less than seven months away and runs high risk of losing his office immunity by 20th Jan 2024 if he loses the poll. They were also petitioned against and sought to be slammed with visa ban and inter-country entry restrictions involving themselves and members of their nuclear families for their vicarious or direct involvement in gross human rights abuses and violations under their gubernatorial watch in Imo, Rivers, Kaduna and Ebonyi between 2015 and 2020 and 2021 and 2023.
We had prayerfully called on the 31 respected Ambassadors or High Commissioners to:
1. Slam visa sanctions and other international travel, engagement and recognition restrictions on the serving Gov of Imo State and office immunity losing (outgoing) Govs of Rivers, Kaduna and Ebonyi States. Included in the list is Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi State who will also be losing office immunity on 29th May 2023
2. Repatriate all their stashed away material and human deposits and monetary valuable services (if any) traced and linked to the 44 top INEC officials and strongly suspected office atrocity perpetrator Govs named
3. Ensure that all members of their nuclear families living or holidaying or studying anywhere in the named respected countries and their assets and liabilities are speedily repatriated back to Nigeria and permanently embargoed from finding their way back to the respected countries.
4. Particularly, Prof Mahmood Yakubu and Festus Okoye Esquire should be stripped of international forums and opportunities to speak emptily and noisily and stop from receiving undue international attentions and recognitions and permanently barred from traveling to any of the 31 respected Democratic countries named including their nuclear family members.
5. Holistically review future funding and international democracy support funds to INEC and its rubberstamping CSOs including scholarships and sponsorship of their international visitations and exchange programs and speech deliveries.
6. Downward review of funding of Election Day monitoring and upward review of supporting independent CSOs’ critical oversight on INEC especially during Continuous Voters’ Registration and Distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards to discourage disenfranchisement and enhance enfranchisement
7. Mount sufficient pressure and tying future democracy support funding to INEC on full digitalization of voting process or dualization of voting in the country or any part thereof to include electronic PVC and manual PVC voting; whereby registered voters can vote from their homes or choose to vote physically at polling units with their votes count.
Note: A 3-Page Supporting Statistics Was Also Attached To Back Up The Letter.
Signed
For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)
Biafra Defacto Customary Government, has commended Biafrans who heeded their call and participated in the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections despite threats by criminal elements to scuttle the poll in the region.
In a statement made available to News Band by its communication Director, Mazi Uche Mefor, while acknowledging the manipulations that marred the elections in some areas, urged all Biafrans to remain peaceful and challenge appropriately where the obvious injustices were observed.
He also reaffirmed Biafra Defacto Customary Government’s commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
The statement reads, “The Parliament – Biafra De Facto Customary Government appreciates all Biafrans who heeded her advise and call to political action February 25, 2023; thereby, came out en mass and exercised their democratic rights whereas ignored those who threatened enforcement of election boycott, sit-at-home, and curfew throughout Biafraland.
Although not strange, the election has been expectedly rigged and manipulated in some areas in Biafraland, and even beyond, the Biafra De Facto Customary Government particularly urges all Biafrans to remain peaceful; nonetheless, challenge appropriately where the obvious injustices were observed during the process in blantant subversion of the people’s wish. Of noteworthy, these injustices further justify why the people of Biafra must continue to exercise their rights to both internal and external self-determination.
“The Biafra De Facto Customary Government reaffirms her commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.”
The People movement has just started with the declaration of Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President -elect of Nigeria with 8.8M votes while Peter Obi got 6.0 million votes .
GGM wishes to congratulate all of us in Good Governance Ministry (GGM ) and Obidient Movement for being part of this political history in Nigeria.
GGM knows that all of us are disappointed and demoralized with INEC wicked display of biasness and unprofessionalism but one thing is certain : what God does not know ,does not exist.
Peter Obi with millions Obidient Nigerians across the world has caused a major political earthquake in the Nigeria political history. Peter Obi,to his credit ,has returned political power to the ordinary people. For the first time in the recent history of Nigeria ,a son of nobody won National Assembly election without godfather ,or sharing money . GGM position for several years has been vindicated that political power belongs to an organised and informed people not criminal political structures that have hijacked Nigeria Government transactions since after the civil war. Peter Obi with Obidient Nigerians has destroyed and dismantled that criminal structures across Nigeria . Time will tell.
GGM calls all supporters of Good Governance and better society to remain calm in the face of the present provocation. INEC declaration of Tinubu as President -elect will surely not stand the test of time . In 21st century,war is not won on the street but strategic session in air-conditioned conference room . We shall beat the enemies of democracy in their own game. We have won them in the battlefield even without their so called structures . We have no access to public funding,but destroyed them in Lagos and across Nigeria. We will surely destroy them in public court and reclaim people mandate.
Once again ,I want to say a big congratulations to all of us in GGM and Obidient family for being part of this divine mission .Our celebration might be delayed but we shall surely celebrate the dawn of the new political order within Nigeria . Just believe in us and wait for further instructions.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the president-elect amidst controversies of violation of electoral act and the FCT requirements interpretation.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, was declared the president-elect after the 70-year-old polled 8,794,726 votes to win the 2023 presidential election.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced Tinubu as the winner at the International Collation Centre in Abuja during the early hours of Wednesday.
Tinubu won the election ahead of other contenders — the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The three leading presidential candidates won in 12 states each while Kwankwaso claimed only Kano State.
Tinubu edged Atiku, a former vice president and his closest challenger, with no fewer than 1.8 million votes.
The 2023 presidential election is the first time that Tinubu contested for the nation’s top job.
The former senator left office as a two-term governor of Lagos State in 2007 and is credited with leading the coalition that ousted the PDP from power in 2015 and has extended his influence beyond the South-West region in recent years.
Aside from Tinubu; Obi; Atiku, and Kwankwaso, other candidates that gunned for the nation’s oval office include Dumebi Kachikwu of the African Democratic Congress; Kola Abiola, People’s Redemption Party; Omoyele Sowore, Africa Action Congress; Adewole Adebayo, Social Democratic Party; Malik Ado-Ibrahim, Young Progressive Party; Prof Christopher Imumulen, Accord Party; Prof Peter Umeadi, All Progressives Grand Alliance; and Yusuf Mamman Dan Talle, Allied Peoples Movement.
The list also includes Hamza Al-Mustapha, Action Alliance; Sani Yusuf, Action Democratic Party; Nnnadi Osita, Action Peoples Party; Oluwafemi Adenuga, Boot Party; Osakwe Felix Johnson, National Rescue Movement; and Nwanyanwu Daniel Daberechukwu, Zenith Labour Party.
A tally of the votes announced by electoral officials from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Tinubu, in Borno, polled 252,282 votes across the 27 local government areas and was declared the winner by the state Collation Officer, Prof. Jude Rabo.
Atiku and Obi could only garner 190,921 votes and 7,205, respectively while Kwankwaso amassed 4,626 votes.
In Rivers State, Tinubu raked in 231,591 votes from 23 LGAs while the LP scored 175, 071 votes and the PDP polled 88, 468 votes.
The Federal Capital Territory, however, proved to be a game changer for the Labour Party, which floored both Tinubu and his PDP counterpart.
Obi’s popularity in Abuja fetched him 281,717 votes while the former Lagos governor and the former VP shared the remaining slots of 90,902 votes and 74,149 respectively. Kwankwaso also polled 4,517 votes.
But Tinubu made up for his losses in some northern and middle belt states which included Zamfara, Kwara, Kogi, Benue and Kogi States.
In Benue, the APC amassed 310,468 votes to relegate LP (308,372), PDP (130,081) and NNPP (4,740) to second, third and fourth places.
In Zamfara State, he polled 298,396 votes against LP’s 1,660; NNPP’s 4,044 and the PDP’s 193,978 votes.
As expected, Obi soared above other candidates in Plateau where he won by 466,272 votes compared to APC’s 307,195; PDP’s 243,808 while NNPP settled for 8,869 votes.
The states won by Tinubu so far include Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Benue, Zamfara and Jigawa, while Atiku emerged victorious in Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Bayelsa, Adamawa and Akwa Ibom.
On the other hand, Obi has won Lagos, Enugu, Cross River, Nasarawa, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Delta and Plateau states as well as the FCT.
In the final computation, APC polled 8,794,726 votes, PDP amassed 6,984,520 votes, LP scored 6,101,533 votes and NNPP garnered 1,496,687 votes.
Declaring Tinubu as the winner, the INEC boss said, “That Tinubu Bola Ahmed of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
The two major contenders have since rejected the process while the results were being collated. Also, the APC Candidate did not meet the 25% requirement in the federal capital territory which has been given various interpretation by lawyers.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have instituted a suit to restrain the Labour Party (LP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from doing anything to stop the collation and announcement of the results of the February 25 presidential election.
In the suit filed before the Federal High Court in Kano and marked FHC/KN/CS/43/2023, the Action Alliance and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were joined as defendants while the Vice Presidential of the APC, Kashim Shettima, was also listed as plaintiff.
The plaintiffs in a motion on notice filed alongside the originating summons, asked the court to make the order restraining the defendants from stopping the collation and announcement of the results because “damages will not adequately compensate for the injury that may be occasioned on the Plaintiffs if by the Defendants stop the collation of the result.”
The Nigeria Police Force say they’ve arrested a syndicate suspected to have made attempts to compromise the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS in the just concluded voting in the presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to FCT Police, the suspects were arrested in a posh house in the maitama area of the capital territory.
Some INEC BVAS machines were recovered from the syndicate.
The police said that they’re in custody and already helping with investigation.
The Leader of Good Governance Ministry ( GGM) – Comrade Chinedu Asuzu has demanded an immediate resignation of INEC Chairman – Prof Mahmood Yakubu. In a statement released to BVI Channel 1 online , Comrade Asuzu insisted that Prof Yakubu has betrayed the trust millions of hardworking Nigerians reposed on him and should vacate the INEC Chair immediately to assuage the anger and frustration of the Nigerian Masses. The statement reads in full ” INEC is under statutory obligation in line with section 38 of the electoral act 2022 to transmit results electronically soon after results have been announced at the polling units. INEC under the Leadership of Prof Mahmood Yakubu working closely with APC Presidential Candidate, deliberately violated that section of the constitution in order to arrive at pre-determined result . GGM wants to make it clear that collation of results without cross- checking with BVAS is illegal . The Electoral Act is not ambiguous about this procedure and concurrency requirement between BVAS figures and manual figures. This indicates that manual collation cannot proceed without first being tallied with figures from BVAS . Again ,the law mandates INEC Chairman to review any election in any place within 7 days and reverse the results where there is no compliance with the Act and Guidelines. Good Governance Ministry noted that the Nigerian masses have made loud statement during last Saturday Presidential election ,sadly Prof Yakubu and Co-travellers dashed the hopes of millions of emotionally battered Nigerians.The INEC Chairman has broken the law of the land,therefore ,he must resign without further delay” the statement concluded.
Good Governance Ministry is a political Ministry advocating for better and liveable society . The Ministry is at the forefront of promoting public interest. Politicians use money to buy votes because they have not used public office to serve public interest.
The political parties have raised objection to further collation of the Presidential election results until the results are uploaded from the BVAS to compare with the results being collated, citing section 64(4)(a)(b).
The INEC chairman is both the collation officer and the returning officer for presidential election under s. 25(2)(h) and d 25(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 respectively.
S. 64(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 requires the INEC chairman to verify the objection using the BVAS per s. 47(2), 60(4) of the Electoral Act 2022.
S. 64(6)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the Electoral Act requires the INEC chairman to resolve the objection using the original results from the polling units and the BVAS to verify the results per s. 47(2), 60(4) of the Electoral Act 2022.
S. 64(7) of the Electoral Act, requires that if INEC chairman finds that the result is not correct, he shall resolve it based on s.64(6)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the Electoral Act. He will have a new result, which he will announce.
S65(1)(c) of the Electoral Act 2022 further gives INEC chairman the power to review the presidential election results using the BVAS upload as required by Electoral Act 2022.
The intention of the legislation in making BVAS a law is to use the uploading of the results to avoid election rigging and manipulation; which INEC chairman is not complying with, raising suspicion of his being an accomplice in the ongoing presidential election rigging.
S. 70 permits INEC to make guidelines for elections; and one of them is the uploading of election results through BVAS as INEC informed Nigerians severally; apart from being Electoral Act requirement per s.64(5),(6)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the Electoral Act, it is also a subsidiary legislation by INEC guidelines that must be complied with.
S. 137 of the Electoral Act 2022 does not require oral evidence if a political party has original or certified true copies to prove non compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
So, the demand by the political parties that results be uploaded in INEC PORTAL from the BVAS to compare with the results being collated to know the correctness is legal per s. 68 of the Electoral Act 2022.
The refusal by INEC chairman to yield to the requests of the political parties is illegal; and consequently renders the presidential election results being collated illegal; because something (the results) cannot stand on nothing (the illegality). Failure of INEC chairman to act based on s.64(5),(6)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the Electoral Act will warrant his going to jail under s. 64(9) of the Electoral Act.
