The Atiku Alliance for Good Governance (TAAGG) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to uphold extant laws that govern the conduct of Nigeria’s Presidential and National Assembly elections. The group urged INEC to invalidate any discredited polls where necessary, as recommended by law, to save Nigeria’s democracy.
The statement comes after INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, admitted that the election, which saw Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) declared the winner, did not fully comply with the laws governing its conduct.
TAAGG, in a statement released by its leader, Obiora Okonkwo, stated that INEC should use all available legal windows to review the elections and invalidate any that were grossly challenged. “By the admission of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, it is obvious that the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria did not satisfy the law as spelled out by the Electoral Act,” Okonkwo said.
Therefore, Okonkwo expects the INEC chairman to review the conduct of his officials in the performance of their duty on election day and invalidate any compromised results, in accordance with extant lawful provisions. This would ensure that compromised results do not stand, which would make no sense to penalize INEC officers found to have compromised the election.
According to TAAGG, allowing compromised results to stand would make nonsense of any effort to strengthen the electoral system in Nigeria and further jeopardize Nigeria’s march to steady democracy. The group believes that the success of Nigeria in sanitizing its electoral system by ensuring that people did not benefit from compromised results and that the rule of law prevails at all times will be a significant boost to the growth of democracy in Africa, especially in West Africa, where flawed elections and lack of respect for the rule of law have seen a gradual return of military rule.