SOUTHERN and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), on Thursday expressed concern over conduct of Osun State supplementary poll and its outcome as announced by the INEC, saying the development had once again heightened fears that chances that the country would have free, fair and credible election next year February were very slim unless Nigerians and the international community insisted.
Consequently, the leaders, who decried what it termed the apparent complicity of the security agencies in the exercise, as indicated in various reports of Local and International observers especially the US, UK and EU, urged those at the receiving end of the electoral fraud perpetrated in the Osun elections to proceed to the court as promised in order to test the processes with the law.
The Forum said this in a statement titled, “Osun Supplementary Election: Red Flag For 2019,” issued and signed by Mr Yinka Odumakin for South-West, Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-South), Prof. Chigozie Ogbu (South-East) and Dr Isuwa Dogo (Middle-Belt), copy of which was made available to newsmen.
“The conduct of the Osun State supplementary elections on Thursday 27th September, 2018 and the outcome announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have, once again, heightened the concern of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum that unless Nigerians and the international community insist the chances of the country having free, fair and credible election in February next year is very slim.
“We encourage those at the receiving end of the electoral banditry perpetrated in the Osun elections to proceed to the court as promised in order to test the processes with the law,” the Forum said.
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The leaders said the Osun election, which should have been concluded at the first ballot, but was forced into a contrived inconclusive mode in order to perpetrate one of the worst fraud in electoral contest in recent time, practically demonstrated President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement made months ago that he was still shocked that former President Goodluck Jonathan conceded victory to him in 2015.
According to them, this statement has been interpreted by right-thinking people that if Buhari were to be in Jonathan’s shoes he could have found some way to derail the process.
The Forum, while contending that the consolidation and deepening of democracy remained of paramount importance to the peace and stability of the country, said this can only be guaranteed when the constitutional rights of the people to vote were respected and upheld.
“It is in this regard, that the statements issued by domestic and international observer teams, noting that the conduct and outcome of the rerun elections in Osun State did not meet the standard to be adjudged free, fair and credible must be given serious consideration and acted upon,” the statement said.
The Forum finally called on the International Community to engage all stakeholders and to work with all political parties across board to ensure that the Federal Government led by Buhari “does not stand on the way of a smooth electoral process and that the General Elections in 2019 are not only held in a conducive atmosphere but are adjudged without any iota of doubt, free, fair and credible elections.”
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