Labour Party to INEC - 'Follow guidelines or cancel elections now"

 

The Director General, Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to follow the stipulated guidelines of the Electoral Act or cancel the entire election process.

Osunkotun made the call during a press conference in Abuja on Monday.

According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari, pledged to Nigerians free and fair elections by passage of the new Electoral Act, adding that the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, repeatedly also promised Nigerians and the global community free and fair elections.

Speaking further he noted that the electoral body severally reiterated its readiness to conduct the free and fair elections, adding that none of the promises has been kept.

He said, “All the promises made about deploying a fair safe system anchored on Bimodal Voter Accreditation System technology were broken.

“The Internet and social media are watched by videos and photographic evidences of the pervasive violence and attacks that were visited on Nigerians with some attacks still going on in some part of the country as we speak.”

He further noted that the evidence of collision of INEC and the security forces to subdue the rule of the people were too numerous to be detailed.

“The INEC guidelines on the conduct of elections where extensively bridged and inec has evidently been very reluctant to make adjustments to remedy the situation.

“Contractually to publicly advertised guidelines and conducts of the elections were convinced that the processes leading to the results have been severally compromised.

“Consequently, we regret to state that we have lost confidence in results being collated and being announced.”

He added, “We thank Nigerians and support for our candidate and we assure you that some mandates be surrendered to a desperate gaggle of fare rulers who have done nothing but create issues on our dear country.

“We hope that Nigeria remain peaceful and rule abiding while assuring that we are doing everything within the law to protect your sacred mandate.

“We hereby call on INEC to future suspend the announcement of the results and follow it soon guidelines or completely cancel the entire election and make plans for another election with strict compliance with the stipulated laws and guidelines,” he urged.