By Osaro Matthew

The presidency on July 2 2023, rejected the reports on the 2023 presidential election by the European Union Election Observation Mission, describing it as a poorly done job that relied heavily on a few persons. In a long statement issued by Mr Dele Alake, special adviser to the president on special duties, communications and strategy, with the title, “we reject European Union conclusions on 2023 general elections”.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said he had many reasons to believe that the ” jaundiced report “, based on the views on fewer than more than 50 observers, was to merely to sustain the same premature denunciatory stance contained in EU parliamentary report released in March. The President in the statement also noted that some notable bodies like the National Bar Association, the electoral umpire and the Independent National Electoral Commission had commended the conduct and outcome of the election.

This is coming after the European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria released it’s final report on the Federal election and State elections that took place on 25 February and 18 March respectively. The chief observer, Barry Andrews, member of the European Parliament stated: “In the lead up to the 2023 election, Nigerian citizens demonstrated a clear commitment to Democratic processes. That said, the election exposed enduring systematic weakness and therefore signal a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness and accountability. He also noted that, importantly there is a need for political will to achieve improved democratic practices in Nigeria. Inclusive dialogue between all stakeholders on electoral reforms remain crucial. The European Union stands ready to support Nigeria stakeholders in the implementation of these recommendations.

The rejection of the report of the European Union on the federal and state elections have spurred criticism from different political actors and groups notably from the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Atiku Abubakar. The former Vice President hailed the European Union election monitoring group for stating in its report that the last election was fraught with irregularities and failed to meet the minimum standard of credibility. He also lambasted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his spokesman, Dele Alake, for trying to discredit the report.

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