Wednesday, March 1, 2023 – The European Union has said the just concluded Nigeria election was not free and fair and there were rampant cases of irregularities in many areas.
In a statement on Wednesday, the European agency said the election that saw Bola Tinubu declared the winner of the election lacked transparency and accountability.
The statement by the EU comes as former President Uhuru Kenyatta who was head of the African Union observer mission said the election was free and fair.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, who was vying on the All Progressives Congress (APC) party garnered 8.8 million votes while Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar emerged second with 6.9 million votes.
Peter Obi of the Labour Party came third with 6.1 million votes.
“Tinubu, Bola Ahmed, of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu said.
Even before the final tallies, Labour and PDP had already called for the vote to be cancelled, alleging massive manipulation of the results.
It was not clear whether they would take their case to court.
Tinubu, 70, a long-time political kingmaker who ran on his experience as Lagos governor from 1999 to 2007, campaigned saying “It’s my turn” to govern Africa’s largest economy.
The Kenyan DAILY POST