A mass rally with hundreds of people held today Thursday to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its conducting of the 2023 governorship election won by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Usman Ododo.
Converging at INEC’s headquarters in Abuja, the rally condemned those it said wanted to hold Kogi State hostage as an ethnic enclave.
The demonstrators’ placards read: “Kogi is Kogi State, Not Igala state;” “Stop Blackmailing INEC;” “INEC did well in Kogi State.”
A statement to the Press at the rally said:
INEC IS TRYING ITS BEST
LADIES and gentlemen of the Press and all lovers of democracy:
We are here today in solidarity with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which has become a target of unfair and wicked propaganda by politicians who are bad losers.
INEC is doing its best within the political environment it operates in to deliver free, fair and credible elections in the country even if under extremely challenging conditions.
You will recall that the Commission conducted governorship election last year in Kogi State. That election was won by the APC and was so declared by the Commission. Since that time, politicians from the state who promote atrocious ethnic agenda particularly of Igala domination have been all over the place running down the Commission and sponsoring all sorts of campaign of calumny against INEC for doing its constitutionally assigned duty of conducting election.
Kogi is a state for all who are its indigenes and not an ethnic enclave of any particular tribe as these merchants of division are making it look like. They are taking out their frustration on INEC without any justification by being purveyors of falsehood and wicked propaganda to discredit the said election which they lost woefully.
INEC is not their problem. Their problem is themselves and their candidate who did not have the political status and structures to win even his local government. They can only thrive in propaganda and blackmail and these do not win elections but expose those who engage in them as mere noise makers and serial election losers.
All lovers of democracy in this country know that the November 11th 2023 governorship election in Kogi State was conducted by INEC with professional competence which made the election a substantially true reflection of the choice and wishes of the Kogi State electorate. All the unnecessary noise being made about BVAS is a product of unfounded allegations that have no basis in fact. That is why these detractors failed woefully to provide any concrete proofs or evidence of the phantom allegations they propagate in Court. That was why they lost the election and also lost their petition in court.
Courts deal with evidence before them, not orchestrated shenanigans by frustrated politicians of no value.
We commend INEC for a job well done and at the same time condemn the activities of disgruntled politicians who sponsor atrocious propaganda against the Commission which has been improving its capacity to conduct seamless elections across board.
We urge the Commission to refuse to be distracted by political merchants of fake news and division who are desperate to bring the Commission to disrepute with their narrow ethnic agenda.
Sgd. Barr. Oluchi Anabude
Barr. Peter Ugwuoke
Joint Coordinator,
Election Transparency Advocacy Coalition
