Tinubu’s Victory: “Contrary to Observations,” INEC Speaks on 2023 Election Results
- A group has tackled INEC over the conclusion of the 2023 presidential election, demanding clarification on the results announced
- The Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism queried INEC over the results broadcasted live and those reported in official documents, while also citing significant discrepancies in polling unit cancellations
- The chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, responded to the group's claims in a statement
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the results of the 2023 presidential election valid and authentic.
Source: Facebook
Tinubu's victory: INEC clears air on election results
The nation's electoral umpire dismissed claims of discrepancies between the results on its website and those presented by returning officers at the National Collation Centre, which were broadcast live on national television.
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Recall that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu defeated Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and his LP counterpart, Peter Obi, to emerge as the winner of the 2023 election.
But some groups are not in agreement with the outcome of the election, they criticised the election results announced by INEC on Wednesday, March 31, 2023.
Relying on the Freedom of Information Law, the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ), in a letter dated August 7 and addressed to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, alleged that in the televised announcements, INEC reported 1,578 polling units (PUs) where voting was cancelled because of irregularities.
It said no figures were given for the reason, though officials cited overvoting, violence, and other irregularities, adding that the total number of registered voters was about 1,205,000.
However, the Centre said in the documents filed on IREV that INEC polling workers reported 2,203 polling units (PUs) where voting was cancelled because of irregularities, The Punch reported.
“Can you explain the differences between what INEC officials were saying publicly versus the records filed by polling unit workers?” the body queried.
In a swift reaction to the group's criticism, the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the Commission does not announce election results on YouTube and that there are no discrepancies either in the number of registered voters or the presidential election results announced by the Commission.
As reported by Vanguard, Oyekanmi stressed that no discrepancies existed between the publicly announced results and those filed by polling officials.
He said:
“You listed three YouTube video links from Channels Television, showing the interactions between the State Returning Officers of Imo, Abia, and Zamfara States and the INEC Chairman at the National Collation Centre, Abuja.
“It is important to note that the Returning Officers of the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are required to present their presidential election results individually to the Chief Returning Officer of the Federation for the presidential election, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who is also the INEC Chairman.
“Secondly, there are no discrepancies either in the number of registered voters or the presidential election results announced by the commission.
“Thirdly, our comprehensive 468-page report of the 2023 general election, containing the answers and clarifications to your questions, was officially released in March this year and immediately uploaded to our website www.inecnigeria.org,” he stated.
“But contrary to your observations, there were no contradictions in the video clips."
Kogi election: INEC under fire amid over-voting controversy
In a related development, Legit.ng reported that Concerned Kogi Citizens, led by Isaiah Davies Idijele, sent a crucial message to the good people of Edo and Ondo states ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the respective states.
They urged the electorates to pay close attention to the use of BVAS by INEC while citing the case of the Kogi BVAS fraud involving overvoting.
The group criticises INEC and made a strong demand from the Supreme Court regarding the alleged irregularities in Kogi election.
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Source: Legit.ng
