By Jude Opara Abuja
The Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Sen. Nenadi Usman on Sunday described the just concluded bye-elections is some sates of the federation as a clear mockery of democracy and a dress rehearsal of what could be experienced in the 2027 general elections.
Sen. Usman in a statement by Ken Asoqwa, the Senior Special Adviser Media to the Interim National Chairman said the spectacle was the same from Kaduna to Anambra and in all the states where he alleged that vote buying and open rigging was what characterized the exercise.
“What transpired across Nigeria yesterday in the name of bye-elections was nothing short of a mockery of democracy, a travesty of justice against the Nigerian people, and a dangerous dress rehearsal of what may befall us in 2027 if citizens do not act swiftly to halt this brigandage.
“From Kaduna to Anambra, Ogun to Oyo, and Kano, the narrative remained the same: large-scale rigging, brazen vote-buying, and violence defined the process. Independent accounts confirmed that the ruling APC – often in collusion with security agencies – stood at the very centre of these shameful acts that desecrated our electoral space”.
The Labour Party further questioned the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the leadership of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to guarantee a free fair election in 2027 if it could not deliver a free, fair and credible bye-election in just a few states.
“If INEC cannot conduct minor off-season elections with integrity, one shudders at the thought of how it intends to manage the nationwide polls of 2027.
“True to character, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Professor Mahmoud Yakubu did not disappoint. Two years after the brazen electoral heist that robbed the Labour Party and the Nigerian people of their mandate, we had hoped that the passage of time would inspire Yakubu to at least attempt a semblance of redemption – a pretence at leaving behind a legacy. Yesterday’s outing has proven that such expectations were misplaced”.
Nevertheless, Usman called on President Bola Tinubu to rise to the occasion and rescue the nation’s democracy from imminent collapse.
“The charade witnessed yesterday (Saturday) must not be allowed to define future elections. History will be most unkind to President Tinubu if he permits the hawks around him to push him into further desecrating our democracy in the narrow pursuit of retaining power, even in the face of overwhelming rejection by a weary citizenry already pauperised by the ill-conceived policies of his administration”, the statement concluded.
