A group under the aegis of the National Coalition of Edo Voters (NCEV) has called on all Obidients and non- Obidient people to occupy the National Museums ground in Benin City in protest against the declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the winner of the last Saturday presidential election.
The group made the call at a press conference in Benin City titled, ‘A total, unequivocal rejection of the 2023 Presidential election results, announced by the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu.’
Olu Martins, the spokesperson of the group, said the occupation of the museum was to express their dissatisfaction over the alleged fraud and irregularities that characterised the conduct and announcement of the presidential election results.
Martins, who said the occupation of the city would be different from normal protests, said that it was going to be a replication of the 2012 fuel subsidy protest when some Lagosians occupied the Freedom Park.
“We have decided that by tomorrow (Friday) morning we will be converging at the National Museum ground in Benin City in protest against INEC as well as the declaration of APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu the winner of the election.
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“We will be there from Friday to Saturday, Monday and till before the March 11 state House of Assembly election. We will be occupying the area for 2 hours every day.
“We are inviting all Obidients and non-Obidients to the protest. We need to take action to express displeasure on the conduct of the last Saturday presidential and national assembly elections,” he said.
Martins, who alleged that INEC and APC were the two major problems of the country, also advised people not to vote for the party in the next Saturday governorship and state assembly elections.
“Nigerians have two main problems. They are APC and INEC. They have colluded to emasculate the wishes of the people.
“We are asking our people to demonstrate that we are not happy with the action of INEC and their APC collaborator, when our people go for election on March 11,2023.
“Anywhere you see APC as a party you shouldn’t look there at all, you people are at liberty to vote for any other party and not APC.
“You are free to vote any party of your conscience; APC did not near your conscience at all,” he added.
He opined that electoral corruption was the highest corruption in the world, which is worst than financial corruption because other corruption are built on the basis of electoral corruption.
He, however, among others called for a neutral body of forensic experts to audit the entire Presidential election results, with a view to discovering the demons that have been bedevilling free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
