Chief (Engr.) Martin Onovo, the presidential candidate of the defunct National Conscience Party (NCP) in the 2015 elections, has cautioned Nigerians against expecting a free, fair, and credible election in 2027.
In a recent statement on the country’s situation, he argued that Nigeria is not experiencing true democracy but rather a form of maximum civilian dictatorship.
He characterized the 2024 gubernatorial election in Edo State as a mere charade orchestrated by the ruling party to undermine the rule of law and the integrity of the ballot.
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“Do not call that an election. There is no democracy in Nigeria. The two pillars of democracy are the rule of law and the integrity of the ballot. Both are absent in Nigeria presently. What we have now is a maximum civilian dictatorship.
“The current civilian dictatorship in Nigeria arranged a charade and appointed a governor for Edo State. It was not a surprise to us because we know the undemocratic ‘Emi lo kan’ modus operandi of the current civilian dictatorship in Nigeria, and we expected the Edo State charade.
“Very clearly; Jagaban Tinubu publicly promised to “give” Edo State to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He proceeded to do so with impunity. He used the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the police to “give” Edo State to his APC,” he said.
He stated that INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who is Wike’s cousin and the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), breached election rules.
He noted that the fraudulent results in some constituencies indicated more votes than the number of accredited voters.
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Additionally, he claimed that the collation process was hijacked and agents from participating parties were excluded, facilitating the manipulation of results.
“Collation was hijacked, and agents of participating parties were excluded to allow the criminal forgery of results. Officers of the Nigeria Police were viciously intimidating and arresting supporters of other parties.
“Other officers of the same Nigeria Police provided cover for the hijack of collation and forgery of results. Most importantly, the declared results are different from the authentic results published on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV). What imbecility,” he lamented.
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The Nigerian government, regardless of which party is in charge, ought to make people give account of whatever allegations they make about anybody including the party, any party. You can’t just accuse the president or the party of collusion. You have to be very specific in what you state. Don’t just insinuate. You have to prove and be ready to stake your claim in a law court.