The Bola Tinubu administration has been under fire from the Neo Africana Centre for its response to the European Union Election Observation Mission’s (EU-EOM) report on Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, which they have criticized as hasty, reactionary, and unseemly.
Additionally, it has advised the presidency to resist the urge to preside as judge in its own case.
The final report of the EU-EOM’s three-month nationwide observation was just recently made public. The report’s identification of persisting systemic flaws that hampered inclusivity, transparency, and transparency in the elections was one of its key highlights. The report also stated that the electoral commission’s inability to guarantee the real-time publication and accessibility of election results undermined public confidence in it and made it difficult to conduct fair and inclusive elections.
The study was swiftly dismissed by the presidency as the result of a shoddy desk job, though. It added that it opposes any thought or suggestion that the 2023 election was rigged, regardless of where it comes from. According to the president, the election was not just trustworthy but also the most open, transparent, and free in Nigeria since 1999.
The public policy think tank said it was absurd for the presidency to put itself forward in a report that was primarily addressed at the Independent National Electoral Commission in a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Jenkins Udu. It disapproved of such haste and cautioned the presidency against taking any measures or making any statements that might indicate that it desires
The statement reads in part:
“ We have followed keenly and closely the activities of the European Union Election Observation Mission in the three months that it spent in Nigeria monitoring the preparations, conduct and outcome of the 2023 general elections. As a body whose core values revolve around democracy and good governance, we took more than a passing interest in the activities of EU-EOM.
We share in the concerns it expressed about the shoddy conduct of the elections. Its position on the election is in tandem with the widely held view about the 2023 elections, particularly the presidential election. It will be self-deceit, for instance, for anybody not to acknowledge the damage which the non transmission of the presidential election results in real time inflicted on the credibility of the election. This major lapse cannot be swept under the carpet.
“However, we are more interested in its recommendations which we believe can improve our democratic processes in future if they are accepted and implemented. Even though the recommendations are largely for the electoral commission, we invite other relevant bodies, within and outside our shores, to learn a lesson or two from the report.
“We therefore find it rash, reactionary and unbecoming for the presidency to jump into the fray to denounce and discredit the report. The presidency is an interested party in this matter and should stay off the radar. The hasty attempt to impose its views on the report on Nigerians and the world at large should be viewed with suspicion and disapproval. The presidency should not pose as a judge in its own case. Doing so will be preposterous and an assault on the collective intelligence of Nigerians. While we expect concerned bodies to make the best out of the report, we repudiate any hasty denunciation that seeks to reduce the report to a partisan piece of propaganda which it obviously is not.”
