Presidency, LP, PDP React To US Report On 2023 General Election

“We are also committed to ensuring that our country does not become a one-party state or slide into dictatorship.” Speaking in a similar vein, his counterpart in the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, said: “With all said and done, we take solace in the fact that the report was fair enough to admit that there were irregularities, including but not limited to vote buying, ballot box snatching, intimidation and physical attacks on our party supporters, especially in Lagos.

Elections have been conducted and those elected have assumed offices and where there are disputes, they were taken to courts and the issues have been resolved.” Similarly, the Presidency, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, asserted that INEC “conducted a free and fair election.” Onanuga emphasized that electoral bodies worldwide do not conduct elections flawlessly without any errors, and he also dismissed the claim of voter suppression in Lagos State.

Thereportseen byNaija Newson Thursday also stated that there were reports of campaigning at polling stations, lack of ballot secrecy and various irregularities during the country’s 2023 elections According to the report, the recent general elections in Nigeria were deemed to reflect the will of the people, despite significant irregularities.

“During the March 18 state election in Lagos, All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters reportedly intimidated and suppressed voters in Igbo-dominated areas, which Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, won in the February 25 national election.

“The report was magnanimous enough to note that supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, suppressed votes in areas dominated by our supporters during the March 2023 governorship election in Lagos.

“Many independent observers who assessed the results of the presidential, legislative, and state-level elections during the year reflected the will of voters despite reports of voter suppression and vote-buying, campaigning at polling stations, lack of ballot secrecy, violence, and intimidation.

Duru said: “It (report) is a welcome development but I want to restate that we do not need any external validation on the outcome of the 2023 general election.

“According to videos posted on social media, police officers were present but failed to respond to attacks.” However, in response to the report, the two primary opposition parties, the PDP and the LP, reaffirmed their dedication to enhancing democracy in Nigeria, notwithstanding its imperfections.

National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, in a telephone chat with Vanguard said: “I am yet to read the report but one thing we, as a party, can assure Nigerians is that we remain committed to the advancement of democracy in our country..

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