The Federal Government called on former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to interrupt the 2023 General Elections with his letter, which was allegedly provocative and provocative.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in his statement issued on Tuesday, said what the former President presented as an ‘appeal for caution and correction’ is nothing but a calculated attempt to sabotage the election process and incite violence.
The minister expressed surprise that a former President could throw out unverified allegations and intensify the wild allegations gathered from the street against the electoral process.
Mohammed said, “Though purported to be a fair and concerned elder statesman, former President Obasanjo is in fact a known partisan, bent on thwarting the choice of millions of Nigerian voters.”
He alleged that the former President, in his time, organised perhaps the worst election since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, hence he is the least qualified to advise a President whose determined effort to leave a legacy of free, fair, credible and transparent election is well acknowledged within and outside Nigeria.
“While the entire nation awaits the results of last week’s national elections, amid the unnecessary tension created by professional complainers and political satirists, what can one expect from an independent elder statesman?
There are words and actions that reduce stress and calm the mind.
“Instead, former President Obasanjo used his unsolicited letter to hint or perhaps wish for inconclusive elections and a descent into anarchy; used his time to cast aspersions on election officials who were unable to defend themselves, while secretly trying to clothe his personal choice in the garb of the people’s choice. This is hypocrisy,” he said.
The Minister further reminded the former President that organising elections in Nigeria is not a mean feat, considering that the voter population of 93,469,008 in the country is 16,742,916 more than the total number of registered voters, at 76,726,092, in 14 West African nations put together.
“With more than 1,265,227 electoral officials deployed, an infusion of technology to enhance the electoral process and the logistical nightmare of sending election materials across our vast country, the Independent Electoral Commission for Elections appears to be reliably self-serving, according to preliminary reports from the economic group’s election watchdog.
The West African States Mission and the Commonwealth Observer Group, among other groups that monitored the elections.
“Therefore, those who boast of the power to cancel elections and set a new date unilaterally, in order to minimize perceived election violations, please exercise restraint and let the official electoral bodies Allow him to fulfill his duty by announcing the results of the elections.
2023 National Elections. “Then whoever is affected should follow the prescribed legal procedure laid down for the adjudication of election disputes, instead of threatening fire and causing the disclosure,” the minister said.
