Posted by Frank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has backed the European Union (EU) Election Monitoring Group’s report that the 2023 presidential election was rigged in favor of President Bola Tinubu.
He confirmed claims that Nigeria’s previous general election was beset by electoral irregularities and fell short of the minimum standard of legitimacy.
Shaibu stated in a signed statement,
“Even the dead knew that the previous election lacked credibility, and the Independent National Electoral Commission was unable to explain why, nearly five months after the election, it refused to upload the full result on its result viewing portal.”
“Even primary school children who did not vote are aware that INEC failed miserably and Tinubu rigged the previous election.”
He questioned why the Nigerian government would get billions of euros from the EU as an election subsidy while rejecting the EU’s assessment of the elections.
Shaibu was criticizing Tinubu and his spokesman, Dele Alake, for attempting to undermine the news.
He told Alake to keep silent rather than defend the discrepancies.
“The EU not only provided training for INEC staff, but also donated equipment to INEC in order for it to conduct a shambolic poll.” So, why would Alake declare that the EU has no right to comment when it is INEC’s greatest single donor?
“Mr. Alake should be quiet rather than try to defend the indefensible,”
He went on to say.
However, the Nigerian government rejected the report, claiming that it was defective and did not accurately reflect what happened during the election.