Echoes of Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections: Thrills and Frills Revelation

The 2023 General Elections in Nigeria have come and gone but the dust is yet to settle


After what looked like eternity in an election that was characterized with suspense, horse trading, high wire politicking, bated breath and more, Nigeria’s 2023 general election has at last, come to an end even as the dusts raised by it are yet to settle. The day it ended was Saturday, March 18th, 2023 when the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were held. The state elections were earlier scheduled for Saturday, March 11th, 2023 before it was shifted by one week by the nation’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Prior to the state polls, the presidential and national assembly elections were held on Saturday, February25th, 2023 across the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory, Abuja. With all the trepidation and uncertainty that rent the air amidst a troubled nation, the election was held as scheduled. Before the February 25 election, the nation was almost on a stand still owing to the policy of naira redesign introduced by the nation’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which almost brought the nation on its knees. Not a few were surprised that the elections still held and that was why, Nigerians were also not amused that the states elections were postponed two days to its original date.

The presidential and national assembly elections were a poll where the BVAS and IREV were to be used across states in one fell swoop. Nigerians were excited as President Muhammadu Buhari and the chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu had continuously assured Nigerians that their votes would count especially with the introduction of the BVAS technology. These assurances elicited so much enthusiasm and trust in the population especially the youths who mobilized massively right from the registration for Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC). The election which was contested by about 12 political parties, eventually narrowed down to the big four, even when others also contested.

The big four includes the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), represented by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the major opposition party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the third force, the Labour Party, represented by Peter Obi and the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP), by Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. The election which came with so much frenzy, was eventually heavily criticized as the youths who wanted to take back their country by rooting for a new order were disappointed by the result announced by INEC.

The election which was marred by logistics problems arising from late arrival of materials and personnel, was further heightened by the inability of INEC to adhere to its rules of uploading results from the polling booths to the IREV on real time. There was so much acrimony as the people were suspicious of INEC. Little wonder that when the election results which took over four days were announced, with Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC as winner, it was largely denounced and uncelebrated. Dissatisfied with the conduct of INEC, the opposition political parties called for the resignation of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the controversy that trailed the declaration of results of the presidential election.

The opposition parties which had earlier staged a walk out from the collation centre, in protest of the refusal of INEC chairman to approve the uploading of election results from the polling unit of the INEC result portal before declaration, continued to boycott further coverage of the exercise.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP), accused Prof. Mahmood Yakubu of breaching the Electoral Act and allowing pre-determined results to be admitted into the process. Addressing a joint press conference at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja on Tuesday, after the election, the political parties in a communique read by National Chairman of Labour party, Barr. Julius Abure, said that INEC breached its own rules and failed to transmit election results from the polling units.

He said, “We have, therefore, arrived at the conclusion that the presidential election of Saturday, February 25, 2023 conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been irretrievably compromised and we have totally lost faith in the entire process. “We similarly call on the international community to note that the results being declared at the National Collation Centre have been heavily doctored and manipulated and do not reflect the wishes of Nigerians expressed at the polls on February 25, 2023”. “We also wish to declare a vote of no confidence on the INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood. By his conduct and reaction to the complaints of disenfranchised political parties, we believe that he lacks the integrity and moral standing to continue to oversee this process to a conclusion.

“We are therefore calling on Professor Yakubu to step aside from his role as INEC Chairman and for a credible personality from outside the Commission to take his place and see this process to a conclusion that would be acceptable to all stakeholders and would restore the confidence of the international community in our democratic process and institutions”. They said that INEC was under statutory obligation to transmit elections electronically from the polling unit and since it could not be achieved, the process should start all over to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

While the National Chairman of PDP Sen. Iyorchia Ayu described the election as a sham, ADC National Chairman, Ralph Okey Nwosu said that it will be wrong to allow a process, flawed with irregularities and pre-determined results, be allowed to stand. Also in a separate press briefing, the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP), also called for the immediate cancellation of the general election. NNPP national chairman, Professor Rufa’i Alkali, said the elections were characterised by voter suppression, intimidation, and vote buying. Alkali also asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to announce a new date for fresh elections.

Expectedly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) kicked against the call by the Peoples’ Democratic Party, the Labour Party and the African Democratic Congress for the resignation of Mahmood Yakubu. The APC Presidential Campaign Council in a counter press conference shortly after the opposition parties’ news briefing, said the presidential and National Assembly elections held on the 25th of February were credible enough. Despite the stiff opposition mounted by the opposition parties and majority of Nigerians, the INEC announced Bola Tinubu of the APC as the winner in the wee hours of the morning of Wednesday, March 1st and issued him with Certificate of Return later in the morning of same day.

With such scenario, the stage was set for litigations, protests and acrimony. This state of affairs led to the shifting of the governorship and state assembly elections by one week as INEC came up again with an explanation, hitherto, unknown to the electorates. It announced that it was going to reconfigure the BVAS after the federal elections before the states elections would hold. This brought more controversy and suspicion into the polity as the political parties that have indicated to go to court needed to inspect the materials.

Eventually, INEC had its way and reconfigured the BVAS before the next election. The election of March 18 was therefore greeted with voter apathy, violence, irregularities and made nonsense of the much talked about reforms. It led to protests across the state and court action by four political parties. The governorship election which took place in 28 states of the federation produced the following results; Oyo - Seyi Makinde (PDP), Akwa Ibom - Umo Eno (PDP), Ogun - Dapo Abiodun (APC), Kwara - AbdulRahman AbdulRazak (APC), Jigawa - Umar Namadi (APC),Yobe - Mai Mala Buni (APC), Gombe - Inuwa Yahaya (APC), Katsina - Dikko Radda (APC), Lagos - Babajide Sanwo-Olu (APC), Sokoto - Ahmad Aliyu (APC), Kano - Yusuf Kabir Abba (NNPP), Nasarawa - Abdullahi Sule (APC), Bauchi - Bala Mohammed (PDP), Ebonyi - Francis Nwifuru (APC), Delta - Sheriff Oborevwori (PDP), Plateau - Caleb Mutfwang (PDP), Niger - Umar Bago (APC), Cross River - Bassey Otu (APC), Benue - Hyacinth Alia (APC), Borno - Babagana Zulum (APC), Kaduna - Uba Sani (APC), Taraba - Kefas Agbu (PDP), Zamfara - Dauda Lawal (PDP), Rivers - Sim Fubara (PDP), Abia - Alex Otti (LP), Enugu - Peter Mba (PDP); while Adamawa and Kebbi are still inconclusive, one week after the election.

Protests spread across Nigeria:
As reaction continues to trail the conduct of 2023 presidential and governorship elections in Nigeria, aggrieved citizens have intensified their protest in rejection of the alleged manipulations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with protests across the country.

Protest have been intensified in Abuja, Nasarawa and Kaduna states in rejection of the results declared by INEC in both the presidential and governorship elections in some states. This is even as the government of Kaduna state has banned any form of street protest which had greeted the declaration of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Uba Sani, as winner of the state’s governorship election.

In Abuja, several groups defied the early morning rain to storm the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and other public places to press their demand for the removal, arrest and prosecution of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, over allegations that he compromised the elections. Protesting under the aegis of the ‘Free Nigeria Movement, another group marched to the Court of Appeal to register their displeasure over what they described as monumental fraud in the just-concluded 2023 elections.

Led by Dr Moses Paul, the protesters who displayed placards with several anti, INEC and APC inscriptions, accused Prof. Mahmood Yakubu of playing games with the conduct of the 2023 general elections, while calling on the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to cancel the 2023 polls and replace the INEC chairman with a credible and competent person who would conduct fresh elections. They also want the President to set in motion plans for the formation of an Interim National Government in case the judiciary is unable to conclude the presidential election petitions before May 29.

The street demonstration disrupted vehicular movement and caused heavy traffic gridlock on Shehu Shagari way in Abuja’s Central Business District for several hours. As the Free Nigeria Movement protest was going on at the Court of Appeal, another group of protesters stormed the Unity Fountain in the Central Business District of the Federal Capital Territory, chanting anti INEC songs. The protesters who rejected the results declared by the Commission in the just concluded elections, kicked against the May 29 inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, but asked the federal government to save Nigeria from the embarrassment by inaugurating an Interim National Government, ING.

The angry Nigerians, who protested under the aegis of the National Youth League for the Defence of Democracy, NYLDD, also demanded the immediate sack and arrest of the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu by the Department of Security Services, DSS. The protesting youths also asked foreign embassies in Nigeria to place visa sanction on 15 INEC State Resident Electoral Commissioners who they accused of compromising their roles in the elections.

The youths specifically called for visa sanctions against RECs of Lagos, Rivers, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Jigawa, Kano and Imo. Others are Ebonyi, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, Kaduna, Katsina and Edo States. “We are citizens of Nigeria, lovers of Nigeria, standing on the path of our constitution and citizens’ rights.

“People were burnt in Kano, people were shot in Rivers, and we have seen the greatest inhumanity happen in Lagos state in the course of this election. “Two demands we are making; we are asking the President of this country to immediately arrest and prosecute the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who has committed the greatest fraud in the history of humanity. We need him arrested and prosecuted.

“Our number two demand is that we are asking that an interim government be put in place. We are saying that, because we do not want President Muhammadu Buhari to continue, his tenure is ending, so as a father he should put in place an interim government so that the interim government will now appoint another INEC chairman who will conduct a free and credible election and produce a befitting President for our country. “We are here as frustrated Nigerians and the fundamental rights of Nigerians have been trampled upon by Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC and we are calling for his immediate resignation and arrest.

“We have been to the US Embassy, we have been to the British Council in Nigeria, and we have also submitted a letter to the French Embassy, calling on them to advise the Nigerian government that the Nigerian people are not happy, “We the young people of this country are not happy over what is happening in our country. We may be peaceful now but when you push even a goat to the wall, the goat may bite,” co-convener, Anngu Orngu said.

Also in Lafia, Nasarawa state, the protest by women against the declaration of Governor Abdullahi Sule as re-elected by INEC continued for four days. In continuation of the protest, the women who turned up in their hundreds have remain resolute as they rejected what they described as a broad day robbery of the peoples’ mandate by the Independent National Electoral Commission in connivance with the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). The protest, though peaceful took another dimension as the women went half naked along the streets of the state capital, wailing and crying in total displeasure with the governorship election result announced by INEC, through Professor Tanko Ishaya, the election’s returning officer.

The protesting women called on INEC to cancel and review the governorship election result in the state insisting that the PDP governorship candidate, David Ombugadu won the March 18 polls as against Governor Sule who was declared by INEC. Meanwhile Govermor Abdullahi Sule has warned against protests, stressing that his government would not tolerate moves by any religion or tribe to truncate democracy in the state. This is as the PDP governorship candidate in the state, David Ombugadu, has admonished his supporter and PDP faithful to remain calm.

Kaduna bans street protest, threatens to deal with offenders:
As protest greeted the declaration of APC’s Uba Sani as governor – elect for Kaduna state, as against PDP’s Isa Ashiru, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Kaduna State government, on Thursday, warned against any civil unrest in the state. The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who gave the warning in a statement, said that the government has gathered credible intelligence report that some politicians were about sponsoring unrest in the state. He noted that the state would not spare any individual or group found to be behind any breakdown of law and order across the state.

The commissioner said, “The Kaduna State Government is in receipt of credible intelligence reports revealing plans by some politicians to sponsor and instigate their followers towards unruly public actions. These include storming the streets in a manner that could lead to a breakdown of law and order in the state. “It must be emphasized that persons or groups who engage in actions which could lead to civil unrest, threat to life and destruction of property, will not be spared as the full weight of the law will be applied accordingly. “The suspension of street protests or processions remains in place, in the overall public interest.

“Parents, guardians, and community leaders are also advised to educate their wards against being used by persons who seek to prey on vulnerable emotions and volatile atmospheres to generate chaos.”

INEC has lived below expectations – Senator Moro
As the controversy on the mode of transmission of results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Saver heats up, a ranking member of the Senate, Sen Abba Moro (Benue South) has declared that INEC performed below expectation of Nigerians during the presidential elections. Senator Moro stated that electronic transmission of results of votes from polling units was contained in the electoral Act 2022.

The former Interior Minister in an interview with our Correspondent said he was disturbed by the statement credited to the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan that electronic transmission of results from polling units was not part of the clauses passed by the National Assembly in the Electoral Act 2022 amendment, adding that the statement was false. He wondered why the President of the Senate should give such misguiding information to the general public when in actual fact he presided over the passage of the Electoral Act amendment that was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“How can he say that? What was the entire hullabaloo about Section 84 (52)? It was about electronic transmission of results. “What was not passed, which we agreed that we were going to do in the 10th Senate was electronic voting. “But the use of technology for accreditation and the use of technology to transmit results were passed. And I can tell you that that was the last item that was passed in Section 84 (52), go and check it.

He further argued, “Check Section 84 (51, 52, 53). Those were the contentious, controversial issues that were sent to the President for assent, and they were sent back to us, because we insisted that if this didn’t pass, that one would not pass. “And electronic transmission of results was certainly part of it. So, anyone that is talking from both sides of his mouth on the matter is his own business.” On the role of INEC during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections the lawmaker said it was a “dead commentary.”

He further noted, “Well, you can say it yourself, if there was any impartial electoral umpire and the case we are talking about rigging, it is for Nigerians to judge. As you see me, I don’t really want to engage in blame game. What has been done has been done. “All that we can do now is to try to salvage the situation. If the Federal Government cannot do it, maybe, the state can. If the Executive arm of Government cannot do it, maybe, the Legislative arm can do it. But at the moment, I think INEC has lived below expectation because I was part and parcel of the amendment of the Electoral Act.

Continuing he said, “this is not what we expected; this is not what Nigerians had expected. This is not what the Electoral Act has provided for. If you cry for money and you cry for time, and everything was provided for you. The Electoral Act was passed on time.” “Money was appropriated, allocated and released on time, and you are telling me that you cannot upload results, and you are telling me that electronics transmission of results is not possible, and you are telling me that you cannot use BVAS, the technology that is contained in the Electoral Act? Of course whatever they have done with manual collation of results certainly is illegal. “And this is what I want Nigerians to know, that the electoral umpire at the last moment, at the 11th minute, definitely has failed Nigerians.”