By Chuks Eke
National President of Igbo Traders Association, Mazi Odumegwu Ukoha (Nwa Fada the Commander) has called on the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu to avert any moves to put the Nigerian Nation into anarchy and avoid any attempt to yield into rigging through the delay in uploading and declaring the results from the original results sheets 24hrs after election.
Ukoha in a press statement released in Awka yesterday said alleged video evidences of secret mass voting and thumbprints going on reportedly in various States seem to confirm the rumours making round that some people might use rigging in this election to divide this country .
Sounding a note of warning that the End SARS protests might be a joke compared to the revolution that might erupt in Nigeria if the electoral umpire bungles the election credibility process, the association called on INEC to immediately revert to the votes cast and upload same to the INEC server as captured by BIVAS and counted by the public and signed by all Party agents present during the 25th February, 2023 Election without further delay.
“The commission should reschedule a new and immediate date for the rerun of Elections on those identified polling units across the nation where there were illegalities and ensure that a strong order is made to the security agencies that nobody should be allowed to enter the voting cubicle with a camera phone.
“We warmly thank Mr President Alhaji Muhammad Buhari for approving the use of BIVAS for the 2023 general elections and his open speech that everybody should vote the candidate of his or her choice. We also hereby passionately urge Mr President to make a statement against the Election Ballot Boxes snatching and void Ballot Papers burning that seems to have become a culture of Nigeria during Elections as well as make a statement on the agitation by some self styled pro-Biafra activists who declared sit at home and no election in the southeast”
“Finally, we wish to draw the attention of the INEC Chairman to the rumours making round on Social Media about his assumed concluded plans to rig the 2023 Presidential election in favour of a particular candidate and call on him to make a public statement refuting such article and clear the doubts of Nigerians in some of the gray areas that sounds factual” the group said.
