All members and supporters of the Labour Party globally, fondly referred to as Obi-dients, have been put on red alert for a peaceful march to INEC offices nationwide today.
According to a statement issued late last night and made available to The Frontier, the Labour Party is calling on INEC to immediately abide by the provision of the electoral act by “directing all officials involved in the present conspiratorial falsification of results and trading of votes to immediately retrace their steps and desist from these malpractices and urgently revert to the mandatory use of BVAS for the collation of elections results for the commission not to incur the wrath of already frustrated masses of Nigeria”.
The statement signed by the National Chief Mobiliser of the Labour Party and Obi-dient Movement under the banner of the Big Tent of the 3rd Force Movement of Nigeria, Veteran Olawale Okunniyi, says the warning to INEC has become necessary following the “massive incidents of non upload and transmission of elections results through the BVAS as required by the Nigerian electoral act, owing to the untenable excuse of INEC officials that BVAS could not function to transmit polling units results to collation centres, while INEC Viewing Portal has also suddenly stopped functioning as expected”.
LP also frowns at what it refers to as various bringandage and disruptions of collation of elections results through thuggery and violence in some parts of the country, as reports from its agents on the field, which indicate “unprovoked infliction of intimidation and assault on Labour Party Agents, Representatives and members”.
The full text of the statement reads:
2023: CRITICAL SITUATION UPDATE ON THE GENERAL ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA:
Monday, 27th February, 2023
Emerging Elections Crisis: INEC Chairman, Security Forces charged to rescue the situation before it’s too late
…….INEC Officials warned to desist from trading LP votes and falsifying elections results manually at collation centres
……. All Obi-dients put on red alert for peaceful Mass Protest and March to INEC to demand credible elections to save Nigeria
Chairman of Contact and Mobilisation/Special Duties of Labour Party and Head of Grassroots Mobilisation of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, Veteran Olawale Okunniyi, otherwise known as the National Chief Mobiliser of the Labour Party and Obi-dient Movement under the banner of the Big Tent of the 3rd Force Movement of Nigeria, has pleaded once again with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu to immediately discontinue and discountenance any manual collation of elections results, which cannot been validated by a concomitant BVAS electronic version of such results.
This plea becomes necessary following the massive incidents of non upload and transmission of elections results through the BVAS as required by the Nigerian electoral act, owing to the untenable excuse of INEC officials that BVAS could not function to transmit polling units results to collation centres, while INEC Viewing Portal has also suddenly stopped functioning as expected.
We also frown at various bringandage and disruptions of collation of elections results through thuggery and violence in some parts of Nigeria, as reports from our men and women on the field indicated unprovoked infliction of intimidation and assault on Labour Party Agents, Representatives and members, among who are renowned political economist and Covener of the Big Tent, Prof Pat Utomi, who was harassed at a collation centre in Delta State, among others
In the same vein, collation of election results in Lagos was stalled at various centres and characterised, in many places, by heavy shootings necessitated by the desperation to prevent the use of BVAS for the collation of polling units results, where the ruling APC lost.
We, therefore, call on Nigerian Security Forces to urgently move to neutralise the ongoing thuggery and electoral violence in most parts of Lagos, including Eti Osa, Ejigbo, Ishaga and Oshodi areas, among others, where thugs are currently having a field day doctoring results, while assaulting and holding electoral officials and Labour Party representatives hostage.
Futhermore, intelligence report at our disposal also reveals that some INEC officials in connivance with political Chieftains of ruling Parties are currently engaged in manual falsification of elections results at collation centres, without recourse to the results uploaded on the election BVAS at the polling units as there are also strong plots to trade off the votes of the Labour Party and Peter Obi in some Southern States by the ruling government in Delta, Rivers, Lagos, Balyesa States, among others, where there are deep connivance between the ruling Governments in the States and compromised INEC officials to circumvent the use of BVAS and electronic transmission of results as directed by the law.
To avoid a situation, where our unprecedented mass movement and mega party will have to put all Obi-dient Nigerians on red alerts for a peaceful march to INEC offices nationwide on Monday, INEC is advised to immediately abide by the provision of the electoral act by directing all officials involved in the present conspiratorial falsification of results and trading of votes to immediately retrace their steps and desist from these malpractices and urgently revert to the mandatory use of BVAS for the collation of elections results for the commission not to incur the wrath of already frustrated masses of Nigeria.
Finally, we wish to plead with INEC strongly, to ensure that its IREV (portal) comes alive and becomes functional as promised and that all results uploaded on their portal for collation must tally with the results signed and handed over to polling units Agents of political parties at the polling units so as not to allow the present desperation of the ruling Parties to discredit and scuttle the 2023 elections with concorted and falsified results.
Signed
Olawale Okunniyi
(Veteran Che)
08033993867
National Chief Mobiliser,
Labour Party &
Director General, 3rd Force Movement, Nigeria.
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