NigeriaDecides: ‘I say NO to election cancellation- INEC Chairman, Mahmood declares

The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has vehemently declared NO to the cancellation of the 2023 general election.

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Labour Party, LP, and Action Democratic Congress, ADC has opted to challenge the 2023 general election results due to incredibility and adopting the Manual process of results collation.

The election which has got the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bolu Ahmed Tinubu top of the collation so far was said to have involved some malpractices and rigging in some states.

While the call to cancel to the election result was made by the other parties, the INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood through a statement made available to the press revealed that, the election so far has been credible.

He, therefore, declared that the election and collation of the results must take it full course.

The statement signed by the INEC Chairman dated to be 28th of February, 2023, reads, “I Say No to Cancellation of Results. This election is far from being perfect, just like many before it, but there’s no election in the recent history of this country that has thrown up so much upset like this one.

If the least expected small parties had upstaged the big ones in their homestead, I don’t see the logic in insinuating malpractice where the big ones are leveraging advantage.

I, therefore, say no to cancellation of the results. INEC should run the full course and let the process of redress take over afterwards. We will survive this like every other.

Proposing cancellation is defeatist, and I disagree with the proponents. You can celebrate your big wins in some places but challenging those of others in their supposed stronghold. Does it mean you approached the election with a degree of entitlement or mindset? That is double standards. Let everyone lick their wounds, at least, for now!”

Prof Mahmood Yakubu
Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
28/02/2023.”