The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has described the Presidential and National Assembly elections in which Nigerians trooped out massively on Saturday to vote as the will of the people.
Ohanaeze commended the Nigerian populace for displaying bravery and resoluteness in performing their civic duties on Saturday and also on Sunday.
The group also noted some hitches that challenged the elections, thereby calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to address situations.
This was revealed by Ohanaeze National Publicity Secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia in a statement titled, ‘Nigerians have spoken’ on Sunday.
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide thanks the good people of Nigeria for their courage, steadfastness and the ultimate discharge of their civic duties by exercising their franchise for a better Nigeria at the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26, 2023,” Ohanaeze said.
“The Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, MFR expresses immense delight that the youths of Nigeria walked their talk by voting for Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed of the Labour Party, overwhelmingly across the country.
“Going by the results so far released, Nigerians have fully expressed their delight for a quantum leap from the asphyxiating ocean of darkness and want to an inspiring gravy train of light and prosperity.
“It is most regrettable that some agents of darkness are bent on using the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to test the will of Nigerians. For instance:
“The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, yesterday, raised alarm that some “officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Lagos and Delta states have refused to upload the results of the presidential elections collated in various polling units in the states unto INEC’s Central Server.
“The Chairman, in a statement said that most of the polling units affected were areas where the LP candidate, Peter Obi, had recorded victory. The chairman listed places like Agege, Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Surulere, and Ibeju Lekki, in Lagos where results showed that Labour Party won convincingly and INEC officials had failed to upload results.
“He added that ‘they were using the police to drive away the Labour Party agents and supporters out of the venue”. The police asserted that “they had the firm instruction from the INEC headquarters not to upload.”
“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the International community to prevail on Mahmood Yakubu not to lend hand to the thickening Frankenstein monster that first devours its creator by respecting the will of the people. Nigerians have spoken.”
