The EU Electoral Observer Mission had said that trust in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had been severely damaged, especially as a result of the failure to upload the result of the presidential election electronically.
The EU which identified six areas for improvement in Nigeria’s electoral process moving forward, noted that the presidential election exposed enduring systemic weaknesses and therefore signalled a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness and accountability.
However, reacting to the report, Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, described it as a “product of a poorly done desk job that relied heavily on few instances of skirmishes in less than 1000 polling units out of over 176,000 where Nigerians voted on election day.”
He claimed that the EU election observers relied more on rumours, hearsay, cocktails of prejudiced and uninformed social media commentaries and opposition talking heads.
Alake insisted that the 2023 general elections, most especially the presidential election, won by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu/All Progressives Congress, were credible, peaceful, free, fair and the best organised general elections in Nigeria since 1999.
He also said that there is no substantial evidence provided by the European Union or any foreign and local organisation that was viable enough to impeach the integrity of the 2023 election outcomes.
The statement read; “We strongly reject, in its entirety, any notion and idea from any organisation, group and individual remotely suggesting that the 2023 election was fraudulent.
“Our earlier position that the technology-aided 2023 general elections were the most transparent and best organised elections since the return of civil rule in Nigeria has been validated by all non-partisan foreign and local observers such are the African Union, ECOWAS, Commonwealth Observer Mission and the Nigerian Bar Association.
