Mobolaji Michael
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi-Fani Kayode has dragged Joe Biden, US president on social media over his failure to congratulate the Nigerian president-elect, Bola Tinubu on his victory at the just concluded presidential poll.
He wrote,
Whether @JoeBiden calls to congratulate him or not @officialABAT is the president-elect of the biggest, richest, most populous, most advanced & most enlightened nation in Africa and the Western world’s biggest trading partner on the continent. They need us as much as we need them.
Yes, the American State Department and the American Ambassador to Nigeria both congratulated Asiwaju. For this, we are eternally grateful and it reflects a measure of respect.
However, it’s time for Joe to pick up the phone and add his voice. We are a big nation: we deserve no less.
The American authorities have maintained a stoic silence since the elections were conducted on 25th February. This is even as a number of international and local observers have condemned the process as well as its outcome.
For instance, a preliminary report by the European Union Election Observation Mission Nigeria 2023 stated that the elections were held on schedule, but lack of transparency and operational failures reduced trust in the process and challenged the right to vote.
“Millions of Nigerian voters cast their vote in the Presidential, Senate and House of Representatives elections despite prevailing challenges. I commend the patience of voters as well as the commitment of youth, who have contributed hugely to the democratic process”, said Barry Andrews at a press conference in Abuja.
“INEC held the elections on schedule despite a very challenging environment. Stakeholders overall expressed confidence in INEC’s independence and professionalism in the preparatory phase. However, INEC’s lack of efficient planning in critical stages and effective public communication reduced trust in the process, including on election day”.
According to the findings of EU EOM observers, as presented by Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament, “election day was marked by late deployment and opening while polling procedures were not always followed. Polling staff struggled to complete result forms, which were not posted publicly in most polling units observed. The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) were perceived as important steps to ensure the integrity and credibility of the elections. However, uploading the results using the BVAS did not work as expected and presidential election result forms started to appear on the portal very late on election day, raising concerns.
“The general elections offered voters a real choice of candidates in a highly competitive campaign. However, political parties denounced unequal campaign conditions due to interference and an increase in violent incidents with the potential to impact the elections and suppress voter participation. Civil society played an increasingly important role in mobilising youth, supporting voter education and, with almost 150,000 observers, holding electoral institutions accountable.
“The tabulation exercise is still ongoing, and we will follow the processes until the end. I encourage stakeholders to continue demonstrating a commitment to a peaceful process – before and after the results are announced. Any dispute arising from the electoral process should be addressed through established legal channels,” said Barry Andrews.
The EU EOM deployed 110 observers from EU member states as well as Canada, Norway and Switzerland for the general elections. The EU EOM is independent in its findings from EU Member States and all EU institutions.