PRESS STATEMENT: INEC’S INEPTITUDE; MISTAKE OR TREACHERY

PRESS STATEMENT: INEC’S INEPTITUDE; MISTAKE OR TREACHERY

The Presidential Campaign Council of the African Action Congress and our candidate, Omoyele Sowore, wish to express our dismay at the terribly poor performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the presidential and national assembly elections last Saturday, February 25, 2023. While INEC’s antecedents have inspired little to no confidence in the Nigerian electorate, Saturday’s performance was a new low and raises the question of whether the Commission’s serial ineptitude is due to mistakes or intentional and treacherous acts of collusion with corrupt politicians against the democratic aspirations of the Nigerian people.

 

With four years to prepare and a huge budget of N305 billion, the Commission’s scandalous performance in Saturday’s elections pushes the boundaries of ineptitude. Its actions suggest a more sinister motivation.

 

Distribution of election materials and the movement of its staff to polling units across the country were badly planned, if planned at all, and poorly coordinated resulting in disruptive delays, and on many occasions, canceled voting in numerous polling units nationwide. In places where its staff showed up, no provisions were made for their welfare, leaving many of them vulnerable to inducement by unscrupulous political operatives.

 

There were shortages of ballot papers, the Biomodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, results sheets, and other essential election materials in numerous polling units. Many of its staff reported limited ballot papers for the election, and where ballot papers were available, the logos of some political parties were missing. These unacceptable inadequacies directly led to the mass disenfranchisement of millions of Nigerians.

 

Interestingly, despite INEC’s repeated assurances to Nigerians on the availability and role of the BVAS devices in ensuring the credibility of the electoral process from accreditation to the electronic transmission of results, the BVAS experiment turned out a monumental failure on electronic transmission of results. The Commission’s staff complained of their inability to upload and transmit results on the system at the polling units as it ought to be. This apparently deliberate malfunction opened the door for potential manipulation of election results on a massive scale as they transited from the units to the wards, and then to the local government collation centers. The failure to transmit the results electronically from the polling units was also a clear violation of the Electoral Act 2022, and already calls to question the legality of the elections.

 

We also observed the inadequate security for Nigerians as they went to the polls. In states such as Lagos, Rivers, and Kogi for example, political thugs threatened, intimidated, and in many instances, attacked Nigerians as they exercised their constitutional right to vote. Ballot boxes were snatched and destroyed, ballot papers were burnt before they could be counted, certain politicians invaded collation centers with thugs and security operatives in a bid to alter election results; overall , the general sanctity of the process was violated, sometimes with the active collusion of INEC staff and security agencies.

 

This is already the country’s most expensive election. When the dust settles, it might also go down as its worst ever.

 

We condemn the use of thugs to stifle the free expression of the democratic will of the Nigerian people. While we recognize that many of these thugs – including those who lost their lives while attacking their fellow citizens – are themselves victims of the corrupt politicians and greedy oligarchs who are the sole beneficiaries of the failed system in the country, we encourage them to join their compatriots in the task of national liberation instead of making themselves tools at the hands of their oppressors.

 

INEC must be careful because it’s shenanigans are clearly testing the patience of the Nigerian people. The results it proposes to announce in the concluded elections must reflect the votes and results recorded at the polling units.

 

 

Finally, it should be stated that INEC’s woeful performance is reflective of the crass ineptitude which has become the defining feature of the Buhari-led APC government. Therefore, whatever the outcome of these elections, the Nigerian people must be ready to assert and defend their freedom, and they can rest assured that the African Action Congress shall stand by them in that endeavour.

 

Signed

 

Onyinye-Gandhi Chukwunyere AAC Presidential Campaign Spokesperson

Deji Adeyanju Endorses Sowore, Says The AAC Flag bearer Will Rescue The Economy, Jail Corrupt Politicians.

Deji Adeyanju Endorses Sowore, Says The AAC Flag bearer Will Rescue The Economy, Jail Corrupt Politicians.

 

Deji took to his social media today and posted a video of him saying his vote is for sowore while analyzing why sowore should be voted for.

He said, “My vote is for Omoyele Sowore tomorrow morning. My PVC is ready and i’m willing to go. Ideologically I can relate with him. Most importantly I know and I am confident that he is going to jail corrupt politicians, past and present. He is going to rescue our economy. I can relate with him ideologically and every other way. I also believe that he has what it takes because we don’t need anybody who is a member of the establishment to go against the establishment. These are some of the reasons i’ll be voting for him

Peace Committee Meeting: Sowore Protests Buhari’s Human Rights Abuses, Refuses To Stand Up For The Outgoing President

Peace Committee Meeting: Sowore Protests Buhari’s Human Rights Abuses, Refuses To Stand Up For The Outgoing President

The presidential candidate of African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore refused to stand up, amidst all the presidential candidates on their feets to honor the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mohammed Buhari while giving his closing remark.

 

The human rights defender said his refusal to stand up when Buhari was making his closing remark was a protest against the failure of the president of NIGERIA and his utter disregard for human rights and him being the worst President of Nigeria.

 

While other presidential candidates rose on their feets to honor the president, Sowore, the presidential candidate of African Action Congress stood his ground, sat down in protest.

Sowore’s Manifesto Is Progressive, and Should Be Supported Says SPN National Chairman, Endorses Sowore

Sowore’s Manifesto Is Progressive, and Should Be Supported Says SPN National Chairman, Endorses Sowore

The chairman of the Socialist party of Nigerian, Abiodun Bamigboye also known as Abbey Trotsky has said, Sowore’s manifesto is progressive and it should be supported.

Speaking at an event of the Democratic Socialist Movement on Saturday, 18th February, 2023, the SPN leader said, “Out of hopelessness, there would be a ray of hope. Omoyele Sowore to us in Democratic Socialist Movement is a ray of hope from the mass of the Nigerian working people in the coming election”.

 

Speaking further he said looking at Sowore’s program in 2019 compared to now, there has been a change that suits the taste of the Socialist Movement. 

 

“AAC manifestos is the political party among the 18 political parties that is going to be on the ballot for election that has declared and described itself as an anti imperialist party. I am not sure if any other party has come close to that.

 

“Every candidate must insist that the right to be educated cogitatively should be at the democratic right of nigerians.”

 

He said Sowore’s manifesto is progressive and it should be supported.

“Sowore’s programs are progressive programs that every right thinking socialist and marxists must support. 

The crisis in the electricity sector today, all of the candidates have maintained a criminal silence over it. 

 

“Sowore is the only candidate that has come out to say if he becomes the president of nigeria, he is going to reverse the anomalies we have as regards the electricity crisis. He said he is going to reverse the privatization of the power sector. 

 

Comrade Abbey Trotsky maintained that the problem of the power sector is never overcentralization but the lack of democracy in terms of management and its control. That explains the collapse of NITEL and OLD NEPA. 

Most of the individuals that constitute the boards were political appointees of the then governments and they were not answerable to the masses so as not to divide the authority of those who appointed them. 

 

“The fact that sowore has come to say that he is reversing that privatization and he is going to probe the process that leads to that privatization itself is a progressive decision that we feel we at dsm should identify with. 

 

He said he has met some people who said for that period Nigeria is going to be sanctioned, even now that Nigeria is not sanctioned, they are worse than sanctioned countries. These are some of the programmes we have identified with

His position on national questions is fantastic. 

 

He quoted the AAC presidential candidate saying, “Sowore said ethnic groups who feel they don’t want to be part of Nigeria should be accorded the right to go. the right to self determination would be respected on to the point of secession. He also recognised the fact that most people who are clamoring for separation felt cheated and their interest has been undermined.”

 

 If Nigeria today provides jobs for all youth, makes education free and affordable for all Nigerians, all of those agitating for secession will die a natural death.

 

He said It is on the basis of all of this that the SPN/DSM decided after a long debate, to be part of Sowore. 

 

“We hereby call on people to vote for Sowore because we know that a vote for Sowore will open up an avenue to begin conversation as to what socialism is and how to bring about a socialist government in Nigeria.  

 

We know that a vote for Sowore will open up a room for working relationships so as to begin to build a platform to resist all the problems that are facing us as a nation. To be able to do that, collective efforts are needed.”

Why INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu Must Come Clean With Nigerians Regarding 2023 General Elections: Sowore

Why INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu Must Come Clean With Nigerians Regarding 2023 General Elections: Sowore


The AAC presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore in the gathering of INEC officials with political party leaders on Monday, February 13th, 2023, held in Abuja has advised the INEC chairman, yakubu mahmood to speak out now if the election won’t be conducted as planned.

He noted that the CBN would sabotage the electoral process through the current issue of currency circulatory crises.

He said, “In our last meeting, I proposed very strongly that before we grant the central bank of Nigeria the opportunity to handle sensitive material, we should meet with the board of CBN.

“That was my position at the last meeting. It was as if I was seeing into the future that the CBN will try everything they can to sabotage this election, while some did not agree because they had a deal with the CBN governor.

“Now , these same individuals are holding rallies in support of the CBN, holding press conferences in support of the negative and retrogressive money crises in the country.

He stated that the CBN has guaranteed some candidates adequate money just like they guarantee INEC, but INEC should understand that going outside the monetary policy and the budget of the country to guarantee cash is illegal.

He reminded them of the process for moving cash and if cash is moved outside that process, it is money laundering.

“Don’t let anybody promise you cash without the right process.

“Also you cannot deny the fact that people don’t have money to spend because according to INEC rules, i cant vote in abuja, i have to travel to ondo state to go and vote, he added.

He said to the INEC chairman that “There is a monetary crisis in this country and no matter what they are doing to assure you of protection, they have no power to protect you.

“You should worry about nigerian people out there who on the way to this place as i was coming this morning are queuing up in every bank available in the country.

“The fact there is no petrol, gasoline to move your materials around should bother you.

“This is the time to be an activist yourself, ” says Sowore to the INEC chairman, mahmood yakub.

He continued, “Just like the way apc has become activist now. They are the ones who cause the problems, they are the ones who are also activists acting against the problems because they want to distance themselves from the problem they created.

“They are smart in their own ways. They want to make sure that they are not punished for the president they elected.

He said INEC should look at the chance of feasibility to logistically hold this election and tell the public the truth.

“The whole country is looking up to you and you will be blamed if the election fails. Wear the garment of your conscience. If you feel you cannot hold the election, can’t cry out now.

“You have a historical duty to make this election work, if you think you are being sabotaged, cry out now.

Sowore then further asked the INEC chairman three questions.

If there is an election runoff, are you prepared for it? And if it’s true that you are prepared, which party is on your ballot paper?

How many people have collected their PVC as of today?

You have one hundred and seventy six polling units and one hundred and six million polling agents, which parties sufficed these polling agents?

Help us it breakdown, how many polling agents were submitted to your office per party so that we don’t end up with one million polling agents for one party and the rest parties are sharing five hundred thousand.

Leaders Of The PDP And APC Aren’t Different From Armed Robbers: Sowore

The presidential candidate of african action congress, Omoyele sowore in an interview with kaftan tv yoruba has said the leaders of the two major political parties can be likened to armed robbers. Speaking in Yoruba he said, “APC and PDP are parties managed by armed robbers”.

Discussing why he wants a positive transformation for nigeria, sowore stated that nigeria is not complex to handle, it just needs a true and visionary leader
He said Nigerian leaders are not capable, physically and mentally fit to lead the country and it is left for Nigerians to take charge to decide and free themselves. “I am more capable and fit than all of these people combined. I have got the visions and the ideas. I’m on a mission. If people who have the ideas and leadership skills are not voted for, things would keep getting worse, says sowore.

On naira redesignation, sowore said those who are incharge of monetary policies are thieves. “Changing of naira cannot curb corruption, it’s just to cause confusion and unnecessary drama. The money needed to be in circulation is over 2.7trillion and their capacity is 350 billion, that’s where the problem is. The bank attendants are receiving less amounts of money while the bank mobile applications cannot send money because of the scarcity. Changing money to stop politicians from buying votes is false, Sowore stated.

Addressing his supposed relationship with Tinubu, the presidential candidate of AAC also for the umptenth time debunked the rumor of being an ally with the presidential candidate of all progressive congress, asiwaju bola ahmed tinubu. He said it was a cheap blackmail to taint his image.

The AAC presidential candidate has also commended NUC for giving students the chance to participate in elections. He maintained his position that the majority of voters identified as students, and it is right for them to be allowed to travel to vote. Had electoral voting been introduced, it would have been stress free, sowore added..

On employment and education, the AAC flagbearer said without power, industrialization is inevitable. “ we have to generate enough electricity to be able to industrialize and create employment opportunities and also fund education adequately and fundamentally”.

Electoral Act Empowering INEC As Major Decision Makers For Parties Is Not Democratic: Sowore

The Presidential Candidate of African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore has criticized the new electoral act for having a deficit that got the senate president declared in an election where he never contested for its primary election.

He challenged the Nigerian lawmakers at the national assembly public hearing on the “Electoral Act 2022” saying they had made it possible to be taken advantage of by the judiciary.

“I want to say regarding this that the electoral act has a lacuna that is being exploited by the judiciary. We are all aware that even though the electoral process has been closed, courts are still giving conflicting judgements regarding candidates in this election including some candidates that didn’t even participate in primaries that have been imposed on inec as we speak, one of them is your president here, he said.

The AAC Presidential Candidate also condemned the electoral acts that empower INEC to become a major decision maker for parties, saying it is not a democratic electoral act.

“An electoral act that also empowers inec to become a major decision maker for parties is not a democratic electoral act.

He made mention of how parties are being deregistered at will and urged the senate to look into it.

He said, “The senate should look directly into how to curb inec power to deregister parties because that does not promote democracy at all. Parties are registered and participating in elections and whenever inec likes, they deregister them and they may shut out very serious ideological parties. I am afraid that if they are allowed to do that, some of our parties might become victims of this excellent but draconia power of inec.

Sowore pointed out how incapable the INEC live servers have been and its inability to handle queries in national elections unless the ICT department of INEC creates a solid website that can carry out encrypted messages from polling units.
“They don’t have strong servers, they don’t have the ability to connect to as many queries coming to it instantly the way other websites should function, he said.

Oyo AAC Unveils Gubernatorial Candidate, Running Mate, Ready To Take It Back

Oyo AAC Unveils Gubernatorial Candidate, Running Mate, Ready To Take It Back

The Oyo Chapter of the African Action Congress (AAC) has unveiled Okedara Kehinde Mojeed as the gubernatorial candidate of the party for the upcoming 2023 general election in the state.

The unveiling which took place in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, has the gubernatorial candidate, Okedara Kehinde Mojeed his deputy, Oladimeji Ayomide and other candidates in attendance.

Addressing the gathering, the Chairman of African Action Congress, Oyo state chapter, Kayode Babayomi, said the party is happy to inform Oyo citizens that it is fully prepared for the 2023 election and take it back from the corrupt government.

His words: “We are ready to take it back. We are ready to deliver the Oyo state citizen from economic woes. We are ready to make life meaning for the people. We have the ideology ready, the mode of engagement and structural plans to do this. We are ready.”

In his remarks, the Party Gubernatorial Candidate, Okedara Kehinde Mojeed, said the African Action Congress has come to renew, transform and to free the state from the current security and social economic challenges.

He said: “We have come to free the residents of the state from these numerous challenges. Oyo state ought to be like the European countries. We are suppose to be pacesetter and be of good example.

“So we will save our people, we shall start from the youth and move to the old. We shall make good economy policies, develop infrastructures among others. We are here to take it back.”

My Alliance is With The Oppressed Only- Sowore

My Alliance is With The Oppressed Only- Sowore

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore has openly declared the forces he aligns with: the oppressed Nigerians.

Sowore, when asked about forging political alliances for the 2023 election by Rufai Oseni on VOP FM, said that he was not interested in forging an alliance with the oppressors of the Nigerian people.

“I already have an alliance with the oppressed already, I can’t form an alliance with an oppressor. We are also talking to other pro-people organizations with ideas that align with ours”.

“Peter Obi has been part of PDP, the party that destroyed this country for 16 years”

“Look at the People supporting him; they are the destroyers of this country; the likes of Obasanjo and Babaginda.”

Omoyele Sowore joins the 2023 presidential election for the second time after first contesting in the 2019 general elections.