Press statement by General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, GCFR Chairman, National Peace Committee.
We commend Nigerians for turning out in mass to exercise their civic duty by voting in the February 25 elections. We took note of their patience, dignity and enthusiasm which Nigerians lined up to vote despite observable challenges in the polling units.
2. Along with millions of other Nigerians and the international community, we have followed developments since the commencement and end of the Presidential and the National Assembly elections last Saturday. Not unexpectedly, the elections got on to a rather rocky start with the problems around logistics and accreditation processes across the country. On balance, despite these glitches, the elections were peaceful across most parts of the country. However, now that the process of casting our votes has been largely concluded, the challenge now lies with the collation of the results. We perfectly understand that Nigerians are quite disturbed by these developments. Against, this backdrop, we make the following appeals.
3. Nigerians must be reminded that the world has invested a lot of goodwill toward us in these elections. We have taken note of the dissatisfaction among voters who braved all harsh weather elements to perform their civic duties. All citizens deserve to be rewarded by a process that ensures that their votes truly count. We appeal to INEC to heed the grievances being expressed, to take the necessary steps to escalate investigations of all allegations of infractions, and to ensure that justice is clearly done to all citizens who went out to vote.
4. We have received reports of the culture of voter suppression manifested across the country through the application of targeted violence, disruption of processes, inducement of voters, intimidation, deliberate frustrations of voters, and the challenges of the election equipment.
5. We are pleased that INEC has accepted these lapses and promised to rectify these lapses. We appeal to the Security Agencies to collaborate with INEC in their investigations of these weighty allegations. Concerns about the failures of the INEC Result Viewing Portals (IReV) across the country must be thoroughly investigated to ensure transparency.
6. In the spirit of the Peace Accord which all Candidates and their Chairmen signed on February 23rd, 2023, the NPC appeals to all the Presidential Candidates, and the Chairmen of Parties to take full responsibility for statements made by their Spokespersons and Agents. We appeal to all our citizens to remain calm while INEC continues with its process to its conclusion.
7. Finally, let us all stand together trusting in the will of God, Allahu Subhanahu Wata’ala for our country. We appeal to INEC to take all the time it requires to ensure that it delivers results that inspire the confidence of our people and meet time-tested international standards.
General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, GCFR Chairman, National Peace Committee.
