Bayo Onanuga, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has accused the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of attempting to manipulate the judiciary in relation to President-elect Bola Tinubu, News About Nigeria reports.
In a statement released on Monday, Onanuga expressed his belief that God has a plan for Nigeria and has chosen a leader with exceptional qualities and a clear vision to govern the country starting from May 29.
Having observed elections since 1979, Onanuga claimed that the 2023 election was the most transparent, free, and fair election he has witnessed.
He pointed out that the criticism directed at the election and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stems from the fact that it did not align with the expectations of those who are now dissatisfied.
Onanuga criticized religious leaders for their negative comments about the election, citing Cardinal John Onaiyekan of the Catholic Church as an example.
Onaiyekan suggested that the alleged actions of those involved in rigging had prevented the true will of the people from being reflected in the results announced by INEC.
According to Onanuga, the opposition parties and their supporters have continuously propagated this “malicious propaganda” since March 1, when Tinubu was declared as the President-elect.
He claimed that this false narrative has been disseminated abroad, targeting individuals who lack firsthand knowledge of how INEC conducted the election.
Comparing the 2023 election to the heavily compromised 2007 election under President Olusegun Obasanjo, Onanuga emphasized the significant progress made.
He highlighted the establishment of the Justice Uwais Commission by President Umaru Yar’Adua, which aimed to improve the electoral process following Obasanjo’s admission of wrongdoing.
Onanuga also praised the implementation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which made the recent election the most technologically advanced poll ever conducted in Nigeria.
Onanuga dismissed the criticisms of INEC, particularly regarding the non-transmission of results from the 176,000 polling units.
He argued that political parties did not need to rely solely on INEC’s upload of results since each party’s polling agent was provided with a copy of Form EC8.
He cited the example of former President Goodluck Jonathan conceding to President Muhammadu Buhari before INEC’s official announcement, indicating that parties could obtain the complete results independently.
In an unusual turn of events, Onanuga revealed that the LP and PDP initially called for an interim government following the election.
He expressed surprise at this post-election desperation, attributing it to the involvement of Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar.
He further stated that since 1999, every election in Nigeria has been disputed by the losing side, but the winners are allowed to be sworn in while litigation takes place.
This has been the norm for both national and state-level elections.
To support his argument, Onanuga cited an example involving Datti Baba-Ahmed, who became a senator in 2011 but had his election challenged in court and subsequently lost the seat.
