Barely 16 days to the inauguration of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the Democratic Alternative Party has urged Nigerians to rise against the inauguration, alleging that the process that produced Tinubu was characterized by a lot of irregularities and fraud.
The call is coming few hours as a Federal High Court set to hear a case by some Abuja voters seeking to stop Tinubu’s Inauguration for not scoring 25% of votes cast in the FCT in line with Section 134 of the Constitution.
Presidential candidate of the DA-Democratic Alternative Party (DA), Mr Victor Vishnay, who made the call during a press briefing in Abuja on Saturday, besides, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to cancel the 2023 polls on grounds that it did not meet acceptable international standards.
“I enjoin Nigerians to call on the president to cancel the 2023 general elections, especially the presidential election”, because of corrupt practices.
“We need change, real change, the fight for a better Nigeria starts with the cancellation of the election. It was not free and fair”.
According to him, Buhari by displaying his ballot paper shortly after casting his vote thereby showing that he voted for Tinubu,”single-handedly influenced the outcome of the February 25, presidential election”.
“So the only way out is for the president to cancel the election, he should give reasons for the cancellation” and step aside, adding that “the Vice President can take over or he set up a committee to manage the country after his exit”.
Besides the cancellation of the election, the presidential candidate called for the investigation and subsequent prosecution of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, for “sabotage”.
He noted that Yakubu had no excuse whatsoever to fail, stating that Nigerians must begin to be responsive and ensure that people are punished for their alleged failings or offences.
Earlier, National Chairman of the party, Prince Frank Ukonga, threatened to drag the electoral umpire to court for excluding the party from the 2023 polls.
He disclosed that DA-Democratic Alternative Party was amongst the 74 political parties deregistered by INEC in 2020, who were later restored by the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
“Basking on this legal window in favour of DA to be relisted by INEC, DA applied to participate in the Enugu State Local Government Election of February 23, 2022 and ENSIEC, granted DA the opportunity to participate in the election by obeying the court judgment of suit FHC/ABJ/ CS/456/2021 in favour of DA and 2 others”, Ukonga said.
He however noted that INEC refused to include them in the 2023 polls despite, “our letter of March 3, 2023, expressing our dissatisfaction in the exclusion of DA presidential candidate, Mr Victor Vishnay, vice presidential candidate, Mrs Hafsatu Abubakar and other candidates and DA logo from the 2023 general elections “.
The national chairman while calling on INEC to obey the judgment of the Supreme Court in INEC vs Youth party to relist the 74 illegally deregistered political parties and allow multi-party democracy to flourish in Nigeria, Ukonga said the party would however not hesitate to approach the court to compel INEC to do the needful.
Credit: This Day