The NADECO USA conference urged the United States to withhold any recognition of an incoming Nigerian government until the Supreme Court has thoroughly and transparently examined the 2023 election.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) USA has expressed its disapproval of calls for the installation of an interim government after the expiration of the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The coalition made the resolution during its Extraordinary Summit in Washington DC held from May 7 to 8. It was themed “Nigeria at the Crossroads: 2023 Elections, Issues and Solutions.”
Following extensive consultations with varied stakeholders including delegates from the UK, Canada, Nigeria, and the US at the NADECO USA Extraordinary Summit in Washington, the NADECO made some recommendations in a communiqué released on Saturday and signed by its Executive Director, Lloyd Ukwu.
The communiqué read, “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) brazenly violated the Electoral Act of 2022, violated its own guidelines, and lied to the Nigerian people when it promised repeatedly that it would transmit the election results from the polling units to the servers in real-time but failed to do so thus sabotaging the integrity of the process. Now, therefore NADECO resolved as follows:
“NADECO calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately remove the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu.
“NADECO further calls for the arrest and prosecution of the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu and all the INEC officials found to have participated in the fraudulent elections.
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“The Supreme Court of Nigeria and the Election Tribunals must expeditiously and transparently consider election challenges, and in the case of the Presidency, if no final determination is reached on the results of the February 2023 election before the scheduled May 29, 2023 inauguration, then the Constitution must be followed, which provides for the Senate President to be installed as the acting President for three months to chart a legal transition of power in Nigeria. On no account should the dreadful Buhari regime be extended nor should another illegal interim government be foisted on us as happened in 1993.”
To achieve these objectives, the coalition said its legal panel recommended further:
“Parties in the petition request and the court grant a mandamus order requiring INEC to review all parties’ objections and reevaluate the election results within seven days as authorized by law which INEC failed to do and 2b. That the tribunal’s proceedings be broadcast live given the global interest, import, and importance of the elections;
“In that light, we commend the commencement of tribunal hearings where all parties have pledged to expedite the process.
“That the Nigerian Supreme Court, the Nigerian Government, and all of its security agencies including DSS, refrain from hastily swearing in or facilitating the swearing-in of any of the 2023 Presidential Candidates until their exhaustion of all legal proceedings.
“Alternatively, given the widespread discontent and rejection of the flawed electoral process by Nigerians and observers at home and abroad, the Nigerian Supreme Court is urged to rely on the ‘political question doctrine’ and invite Amicus Curiae to address the 2023 Presidential Elections, and thereupon ORDER INEC to conduct a fresh election which complies with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution, the 2022 Electoral Act as amended, and INEC’s own guidelines.”
The NADECO USA conference urged the United States to withhold any “recognition of an incoming Nigerian government until the Supreme Court has thoroughly and transparently examined the 2023 election process and ruled definitively on the results of the 2023 elections in the same manner as the U.S. Government did with the 2022 elections in Kenya.”
It also knocked the police and military over their roles at the general elections.
“The Nigerian Police was a major participant in the election fraud during the 2023 elections, for example, a police officer was guarding the notorious thug and hoodlum, Mr. MC Oluomo while issuing his edict that any voter who voted for any party other than the ruling party, All People’s Congress (APC) would be killed. Instead of arresting him the Nigerian Police was assigned to protect him,” the communiqué read.