Acting under the aegis of the United Action Front of Civil Society, pro-democracy rights activists in the country have condemned what they described as the combative reaction of the presidency to the report of the European Union- Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) on the 2023 elections.
In a statement issued on Sunday, they accused the authorities of engaging in “panicky self-indictment.”
The statement was signed by Head, National Coordinating Centre, United Action Front of Civil Society, Wale Okunniyi.
The activists praised the EU-EOM for the courage demonstrated in coming up with the said report.
“We maintained that the final EU Election Observers Report on 2023 general election presented by Barry Andrews in Abuja calls for sober reflections as Nigeria can ill afford to tread the ugly path of under-performance by INEC, coupled with the interference of incumbents in election,” they stated.
Part of the statement read: “The United Action Front of Civil Society takes exception to any form of subtle or naked threats to Nigeria’s foreign partners, especially those who have supported Nigeria in the decades of our tortuous journey towards a stable democracy.
“We insist that the report of the EU-EOM clearly affirms the views and position of overwhelming majority of Nigerians, as well as global community of partners and allies that the process and outcome of the 2023 presidential elections fall short and below standard of credible elections.
“We maintain that the EU-EOM report speaks to the collective concerns of genuine democrats whose expectations of fair, free and credible polls were aborted by the failure of INEC to deploy its highly romanticised technology for the transmission of election results from the polling units to its portal in real time.
“The united Action Front of Civil Society aligns with the stand of well-meaning Nigerians, in the overwhelming majority, that the EU-EOM report and its recommendations should be thoroughly reflected upon for prompt actions ahead of future elections instead of sponsoring protests and media attacks on the EU.
“To this end, we commend the EU, other foreign partners as well as credible platforms of domestic election monitors for their principled stance on the 2023 polls.”
