- * Said Peter Obi, Bola Tinubu Had Ground Game, Money Power For Poll Victory
By Desmond Ukandu (Politics Editor)
An American diplomat, Johnnie Carson, has said that the just concluded February 25th, 2023 Presidential election remains the most competitive since history of general elections in Nigeria and Africa.
Carson who is an Executive Officer of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) co-led the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI), International Election Observation Mission to Nigeria during the elections.
Praising what he expressly described as the "competitive" nature of the presidential poll, Carson, however, observed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) needed to up its game.
According to him, Nigeria deserves the very best electoral process, adding that the problem is not with the political party candidates for the elections.
Carson who made these observations when the Nigeria's Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, visited him on Thursday in his office in Washington DC, United States of America, also showered encomium on the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, for his commitment in delivering a free and fair election for Nigeria in the general elections and in the other supplementary polls so far held. He said the president “is a man of outstanding integrity” who demonstrated the attribute in the past elections.
While Identifying what he believed were the key factors in winning a presidential election in any democracy, Johnnie Carson said such factors make up election war chest. According to him, those cardinal factors are "substantial and significant financial resources, a national working organization and a grass-root acceptance"
Carson stated that the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi possess a substantial grassroots support, especially among the young, educated, urban and sophisticated electorates, who see in him the part way to their desired good governance and Nigeria's redemption.
He said the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is financially liquid and had a dependable national organization to prosecute his campaign. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Carson reasoned, had none of the above privileges available to Peter Obi and Bola Tinubu.
Carson however expressed great apprehension about what verdict the court might come out eventually in respect of the Election Petitions brought by Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar against the controversial presidential poll in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Tinubu as winner despite allegations of flawed process and especially alleged interference with the upload of result with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) facility.
On his part, the Minister of lnformation, Lai Mohammed, said considering where INEC was coming from and where it was today, there were massive improvements in the conduct of the 2023 polls. He conceded that there was room for improvements, saying that the introduction of a new technology Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) by INEC underpinned the credibility of the elections.
According to the Minister, BVAS cut out fraudulent votes, ghost voters and multiple votes. He said the election was conducted against the backdrop of fuel shortage, mounting insecurity and cash swap policy which was not welcomed in some political quarters.
The Minister also had engagements with the Council on Foreign Relations, a well versed think-tank on African affairs and foreign relations chaired by a Nigerian, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare. During his respective interactions with the think-tanks and international media, the minister presented the government narratives on the just concluded polls. The interactions also delved into economy and foreign affairs.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed was also at the Reuters News Agency; The Politico, an international political newspaper, and Zenger News, a channel that publishes its contents on Forbes. At Reuters, the Agency’s recent investigation of alleged secret programmes of coerced abortion of women and girls freed from insurgents’ captivity were discussed. (With reports from NAN). NNL.
