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- Pix(above): Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (m) displaying his certificate of return
A former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has expressed confidence that the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, may not be sworn in as Nigeria’s President on May 29.
Accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of barefaced manipulation of the electoral process and rigging the Presidential election in favour of Tinubu, Ezeife said it was obvious that Peter Obi of the Labour Party won the presidential election across the country.
The State Online reports that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had in the early hours of Wednesday, declared Tinubu as the winner of the polls and went ahead to present him with Certificate of Return, March 1, at a well-attended ceremony in Abuja despite public outcry and misgivings by the opposition parties, especially the LP and PDP.
In declaring the APC flag bearer the winner, Yakubu said, “Tinubu of APC polled a total of 8,794,726 to defeat his closest rivals – candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar and LP’s Peter Obi who scored 6,984, 520 and 6,101,533, respectively.”
But speaking on Arise TV Morning Show yesterday, Ezeife said he is of the view that the presidential election reveals the process was not just unfair and uncredible, but a complete sham at total variance with acceptable democratic ethos, and therefore leaves much to be desired.
He said: “I thank all the foreign bodies who commented and condemned the integrity of the election and thank all Nigerians for the way they treated the Labour Party.
“In fact, I’m happy with the result the Labour Party got from the election, not the ones announced by the INEC. Of course, we know that one is fake. But what we saw was the Labour Party winning Lagos and across the country.
“Some people who do not believe in the oneness of the country are now thinking otherwise. And the future of Nigeria is now brighter. I do not believe that Tinubu, my friend, would be sworn in as President.
“If that is done it’d be a disaster, but I think this thing has opened the eyes of Nigerians. We thank the Yorubas, we thank the Hausas and every group in Nigeria for this openness. Don’t mind the manipulation that made Peter Obi third,” Ezeife said.
“Everybody knows it is impossible, especially with the controversies surrounding the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“One must distinguish between the election as conducted and the election as reported. Tinubu will not be President of Nigeria. I don’t see him being sworn in on May 29,” he further stressed.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has vowed to challenge last Saturday’s presidential poll, which he describes to be massively programmed to deliver pre-determined results.
According to him, the election did not, in any way, meet the necessary requirements and cannot be adjudged credible, free and fair for contemporary democracy.
Addressing a world press conference in Abuja, Thursday, Obi said that Nigerians were robbed of their true choice, insisting he would pursue justice through legitimate means of the court and was ready to challenge the results till he proves his argument.
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“Labour Party won the election and I will prove it,” Obi vowed.
He added, “I will challenge this rascality for the future of the country.”
The former Anambra governor said he believed the process through which people come into any position was important and there was a need for Nigeria to sanitise the process./SHARE THIS
- Tags: Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Mr. Peter Obi, LP, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC