PDP, LP Blast Tinubu for Rejecting EU’s Report on 2023 Poll

The Presidency has been criticised for rejecting the European Union’s (EU) final report on the February 25 presidential election.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its Labour Party (LP) counterparts blasted the Presidency for undermining the EU report and highlighted the necessity to contest the election results in court.

Earlier Empire had reported that the president rejected the report, stating that there are numerous reasons to think that the “jaundiced report,” which was based on the opinions of less than 50 observers, “was to merely sustain the same premature denunciatory stance contained in EU’s preliminary report released in March.”

The EU Observer Mission had highlighted “enduring systemic weaknesses” in the election. report provided 23 recommendations for electoral reforms, and emphasized the need for transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability. 

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake, on Sunday, entitle, “We reject European Union’s conclusions on 2023 general elections.”

The President stated that several eminent organizations, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, have praised the conduct and results of the election.

According to the statement, “Sometimes in May, we alerted the nation, through a press statement, to the plan by a continental multi-lateral institution to discredit the 2023 general elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

But in a swift response, the presidential candidate of the PDP noted that the presidency failed to admit the truth and questioned the credibility of the poll, and cited the delayed result uploads by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Atiku who spoke in a statement through his special assistant, Mr Phrank Shaibu, said the EU’s final report on the 2023 polls revealed that the people’s will was not truly represented.

 He stated that it is hypocritical for the Federal Government to accept EU help for the elections while discrediting its results since they are unfavourable to them.

In a similar vein, Obiora Ifoh, LP’s National Publicity Secretary said that the president’s remark was an attempt to save face.

He said, “It will interest the government to note that the European Union’s report is only one out of numerous submissions by other international Observers who have described the outcome of the election as a sham and an exercise that did not reflect the will of the majority of Nigerians,” Ifoh was quoted as saying.

He stressed that the “Labour Party stands by the position of the EU observation mission. We have always said that this election was massively rigged in favour of the APC and their candidate.

“What the FG is saying is just an afterthought and a shameless effort to mask the obvious. Even the blind can see, the deaf can hear and they know this election was manipulated.”