Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room set up to monitor the election in Nigeria for the election says it is deeply concerned by reports of attempts across several states of the country to undermine the integrity of the collation of votes and outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday.
The concerns were raised as the US and UK governments issued statements in which they said there were disturbing indications that the collation process, where the votes are finally counted, may be subject to deliberate political interference.
According to a statement Monday, “The Situation Room received disturbing reports that politicians are attempting to use national security apparatuses are to fiddle with the election collation process and pass off results that undermine the credibility of the elections and the sacrifice of millions of Nigerians, who against all odds trooped out to cast their votes on 28 March.”
It called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “to ensure that results that are announced reflect the true outcome of the votes cast by the Nigerian people. INEC must ensure that its laudable efforts are not marred by a failure or abuse of the collation process and that all announced results are accurate and reflect the will of the Nigerian people.”
Situation Room also called on the international community to “support the Nigerian people in defence of our right to democratically elect our leaders, without political subversion by politicians. Situation Room urges the international community to exert every effort in assisting the Nigerian people to hold political actors to account. Where necessary, needed sanctions should be activated and targeted against specific political actors and officials for their action in instigating crisis in Nigeria.”
The statement continued “The Situation Room is disappointed at the actions of politicians who are bent on plunging the country into chaos to achieve desperate political ends. Reported electoral fraud being sought to be perpetuated by political forces and security personnel negate the spirit of the Abuja Peace Accord voluntarily signed by the presidential candidates of the political parties, and threaten the peace and stability of the Nigerian nation.
