Nigerians in the United Kingdom On Thursday gathered in front of the Nigerian High Commission on Northumberland Avenue, London, SW1, to protest the #NigerianElections2023.
The crowd, led by author and former Presidential spokesman Reno Omokri, expressed anger and disappointment at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s handling of the election (INEC).
Mr. Omokri stated at the event that, according to the INEC’s IREV portal, overvoting was observed in nearly 14,000 polling units, affecting 4.3 million votes, and manual accreditation was carried out in these and other polling units, in violation of Section 47 (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act.
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He claimed that under certain sections of the Act, elections in those places should have been canceled and rescheduled.
Mr. Omokri called for the election to be canceled in order to hold a more credible one, claiming that “INEC was obviously not ready, and yet went on with the election with blind spots that allowed the ruling party to deploy underhanded techniques to rig the poll.”
He said, “the INEC postponed the governorship election because they were inadequately prepared, which is what they should have done with the Presidential election if they didn’t have a hidden agenda.”
Addressing the protestors further, Pastor Omokri stated that the rally was not about any political party, but rather about a united front demanding free and fair elections from INEC for all Nigerians.
According to Omokri, Nigeria, as Africa’s powerhouse, is expected to lead other smaller African countries in trustworthy polls. Unfortunately, smaller African countries are conducting legitimate polls, whereas polls in Nigeria are usually riddled with difficulties such as manipulation, violence, vote-buying, and the election of unpopular politicians as the winner against the will of the people.
He said, “African countries that are smaller vote, and then their votes go well. And then we have our own vote and then we have all of these issues. Not one single country or one single institution outside Nigeria has said that those polls were good.”
“Chatham House few days ago said the polls did not meet the required standards. The American Ambassador said these polls did not meet the expectations of Nigerians. “
“So, what we are saying here today is that we want credible polls.”
“We are not here for PDP. I’m a member of PDP. I support PDP but we are not here for PDP at all.”
“Some of you, you’re Obidients. …we are united! We are not united for PDP; we are not united for Labour. We are united for Nigeria.”
Among the demonstrators led by Omokri were several Obidients who joined him in a peaceful protest against the INEC ahead of the country’s presidential election on February 25th, 2023.
Obidients are supporters of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in Nigeria’s just-ended presidential election.
Protesters held signs with messages such as “All we’re saying is give us free votes,” “Election without BIVAS is digital rigging,” and “Results without transmission is election rigging.”
“INEC gave us selection, not an election,” “Sunnat, it is too soon to congratulate,” and “INEC Press Neck” were among the other inscriptions.
