I have witnessed many elections since 1979 and I can say without any equivocation that the 2023 election was the best, the most free and fair, the most transparent.
Those who are pillorying the election and INEC, the electoral umpire are simply saying so because the outcome of the election, especially the presidential election did not match their expectation.
May God forgive them, especially the men in cassocks, who in their hallucination, had prophesied victory for their favourite candidate, claiming it was a message from God.
It must be clear to Nigerians that those clerics were not in any conclave with the Almighty God. Their prediction was their personal desires, which went unfulfilled by God.
God surely has other plans for our country and instead chose a man, who has the best leadership pedigree and espouses the best vision to pilot our affairs from 29 May.
Man indeed proposes, God disposes. Our clergymen, not satisfied with the divine and INEC verdict have been all out disparaging the election. The latest of them was Cardinal John Onaiyekan of the Catholic Church.
News reports said the Octogenarian claimed that the election was rigged. He accused some unidentified people of masterminding the rigging and claimed that God knows those riggers.
To Onaiyekan, the alleged machination of ‘those riggers’ made impossible the manifestation of the ‘people’s will’ in the outcome announced by INEC. This lie, nay a malicious propaganda, has been told repeatedly by the opposition parties and their supporters since 1 March when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was declared as President-elect.
The lie has been sold abroad to people who do not have a first-hand information on how INEC conducted the poll.
The lie is simply vicious. It must stop. It is a lie for which the purveyors, no matter their status, ought to earn the wrath of God on earth and in heaven. It is not true.
Without holding brief for INEC, which has filed its defence at the Tribunal, which begins sitting on 8 May, I repeat again that the 2023 election was the best since the return to democracy in 1999. It was miles ahead of the heavily compromised 2007 election conducted by President Olusegun Obasanjo, wherein the beneficiary of the electoral heist, Umaru Yar’Adua apologised for the embarrassment.
Yar’Adua atoned for Obasanjo’s sin by setting up the Justice Uwais Commission to sanitise our election process.
Since then, our elections have gotten better, election cycle after election cycle.
The introduction of BVAS made a significant difference and made the 2023 election, the most technologically driven poll ever conducted in our country. And the best. BVAS made it impossible for parties to record outlandish numbers in their strongholds. It ensured that only the accredited voters voted. INEC deserves praise not ridicule.
All the critics of INEC, on account of the non-transmission of the results recorded at the 176,000 polling units are purely doing so for mischief.
The criticism is most misplaced as the so-called result transmission was additional to what happened at the polling unit. It is superfluous.
In the presidential and National Assembly elections, all polling units tallied votes cast and each party polling agent was given a copy of Form EC8. Collation of polling unit results was done at the ward level and from there to the council level and then the state level. Political parties usually know how they fared in the election by the time votes are tallied at ward or council level.
Parties do not need to wait for INEC upload of polling unit results on its portal to know the entire result of the election. They do not also need to wait for the results announced at the Abuja Collation Centre. In 2015, President Goodluck Jonathan conceded to President Muhammad Buhari before INEC’s announcement, because he and his agents had the figures from all the states. He conceded because he knew the election was already lost to Buhari.
In a development that is extremely strange to our politics, the Labour Party and the PDP initially sponsored calls for an interim government. When that did not get traction, they mounted vicious attacks on INEC for not uploading the results on time, using this lapse to vilify an election that was the best in our country. It’s like condemning your bank for not printing a receipt for a credit payment, when the money is already sitting pretty in your account and you have received the alert.
The Labour Party and the PDP and their surrogates, some of them lawyers, clerics and some ethnic groups have also mounted desperate campaign for the postponement of the inauguration of the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 29 May. Some other groups, including the leading labour and partisan unions, the NLC and TUC, in league with some equally partisan civil society organisations are blackmailing the judges that will handle the petitions against Tinubu’e election.
We have never had such post-poll desperation, except this time that we have a Peter Obi on the ballot and an Atiku that is cocksure he has lost his last chance to gun for the nation’s No. 1 seat. Since 1999, every election held has always been disputed by losers.
The winners are allowed to be sworn in, while litigation goes on. This was the case in all elections. This is also the trend in the states. This has been the convention. It was the convention when Labour Party Vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed became a senator, representing Kaduna North in 2011 under the platform of Congress for Progressive Change. His challenger went to court. Baba-Ahmed’s victory was upturned, after some months, when he had been sworn in as senator.
We cannot change the convention now because some people believe that the men who came second and third in the poll, are pursuing cases in court. They should exercise patience for the judiciary to decide whether they have any strong case to invalidate Tinubu’s victory. The judiciary has always supported litigants when they have ‘substantial’ proof that they were rigged out of an election. As the tribunal begins sitting today, let Labour and its senior partner, the PDP stop further blackmail of the judiciary.
Nigeria’s Democracy Under Siege: Opposition Faces Existential Threats
Thankfully, patriotic leaders saw this danger early and chose resistance over silence by rallying around the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the nucleus of a credible national alternative.
For nearly three years, Nigerians have endured one of the harshest periods in recent history—an era defined by punishing economic policies and shrinking democratic space under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
True to form, this administration has not only inflicted widespread hardship but has pursued a calculated effort to eliminate political alternatives.
The objective is clear: a creeping, de facto one-party state.
Perhaps the Tinubu administration’s most disturbing “achievement” has been the systematic weakening of opposition parties, leaving the All Progressives Congress—despite its manifest failures—standing alone by default, not by merit.
Thankfully, patriotic leaders saw this danger early and chose resistance over silence by rallying around the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the nucleus of a credible national alternative.
Predictably, agents aligned with the Presidency are now attempting to destabilize the ADC from the outside—issuing reckless prescriptions about its internal affairs, particularly the choice of a presidential candidate.
Let it be stated plainly: the ADC is on a national rescue mission. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alongside other committed patriots, is central to this effort.
Any call—overt or covert—for Atiku to “step aside” is a gift to authoritarian ambition and a betrayal of the Nigerian people.
At present, the ADC is focused on building strong ward, local government, and state structures nationwide.
The ADC has consistently affirmed its commitment to an open, transparent, and competitive process for selecting its flag bearer.
APC proxies and external meddlers have no standing to intimidate, blackmail, or sabotage this democratic resolve.
At present, the ADC is focused on building strong ward, local government, and state structures nationwide.
Disruptors and infiltrators must allow the party to do this essential work without interference.The party remains open and welcoming to all genuine opposition figures.
This inclusiveness—not coercion—is the soul of democracy.When the time comes, all qualified aspirants will present themselves freely. No one is stepping down.
If anyone should step aside, it is President Tinubu—whose leadership has become a national liability.
The recent public declaration of ADC membership by former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi in Enugu, the political heartbeat of the Southeast, triggered open boasts by a serving minister and presidential aides about plans to undermine the party.
Their fear is evident. Let there be no ambiguity: the ADC is determined to end the misfortune imposed by the Tinubu-led APC.
No amount of intimidation, intrigue, or sabotage will derail this rescue mission. Nigeria will not surrender its democracy without a fight.
* Paul Ibe, Atiku Media Office Abuja , write this piece
With the support of Governor Monday Okpebholo, including funds, moral stimulus, and freedom to operate, Aledeh has been able to transform EBS into a desired, competitive global brand.
It has been over a year since Mr Sulaiman Aledeh became the managing director of the state-owned Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS), Benin.
He met the outfit in moribund mode.
However, with the support of Governor Monday Okpebholo, including funds, moral stimulus, and freedom to operate, Aledeh has been able to transform EBS into a desired, competitive global brand.
Before the coming of Aledeh, the EBS of the Obaseki era was a mere government propaganda machine and a vicious Alsatian attack dog of opponents.
Now, a new sheriff, Aledeh, is at the helm of EBS.The old unprofessionalism of staff is gone for good.
Therefore, today, you hardly know that EBS is owned by the government because the broadcast station criticises it whenever it errs.
No more hiding place for the government’s inanities. EBS is not yet on par with the BBCs of the world, but it is steadily working hard to catch up with them.
However, the station requires a transmitter each for its Ihevbe and Ivue substations for enhanced coverage.
One of these transmitters arrived from China recently and is being installed without delay.
This suggests that a visible effort is being made to establish the necessary broadcast infrastructure for improved performance.
In addition, EBS has repackaged its programmes, providing people-friendly content with deep insights, enhanced analytical conversations, quality delivery, and an expanded time scope, thanks to the efforts of Aledeh, who has a proven record of being well-versed in a wide range of topics.
This aligns with the principles of mass communication practice worldwide.
One of the new iconic programmes of EBS is the Morning Drive, powered by a crack team of Aledeh himself, St. Patrick, Chris Enabulele, Desmond, AJ, Belema, Uju, Ofure and Mathew Ajakaiye.
Unknown to critics, the team is not a crowd but a whole house of intelligent men and women intentionally assembled for quality conversations that incorporate different perspectives.
Another key point in constituting the team is to promote the Governor Monday Okpebholo’s policy of inclusivity in governance at the micro EBS level.
For instance, with Belema, Ofure, and Uju in Morning Drive, there is female gender representation.
And by having Desmond on the programme, a person with a visible physical challenge is brought on board in Morning Drive.
So, let us stop focusing on the programme’s population and instead concentrate on the cumulative conversational value of each team member, which has been top-notch so far.Indeed, what we have in Morning Drive is not a case of ‘too many cooks spoil the broth ‘.
Instead, it is a case of a plurality of good heads being better than two or three equally good ones.
At this juncture, I must not fail to say that the deliberate inclusion of Desmond, Chris Enabulele and Mathew Ajakaiye in Morning Drive is very revealing. See, although physically challenged, Desmond is never found wanting in the knowledge content of the ideas he speaks on self-assuredly and fearlessly. Chris Enabulele!! Spinning good music is his ‘bad’ habit. But hold it. Just listen to his contributions in Morning, Drive, and you will marvel at his expansive grasp of past and current world events. Never think he is just a music machine.
Additionally, it was exciting to meet Mathew Ajakaiye on Morning Drive. He not only anchors the sports segment of the programme with an array of scintillating information and analysis, but he also stays on to provide valuable insights into any discussion on the table. He is a genuinely global person. All this narrative about Desmond, Chris Enabulele and Mathew Ajakaiye is proof positive that it is a logical fallacy to judge a book by its cover without reading it.However, I need to point out here that the programme should avoid teasing personal jokes targeted at members, as they often end up exposing confidential biographies to the public
in these days of a digital lifestyle. No one has the statutory right to openly discuss false or accurate information about a person with a veneer of a sarcastic joke.There is a plethora of jokes out there in the limitless universe that can add comfort, richness, and organic entertainment value to Morning Drive, currently the leading programme in the South-South of Nigeria, alongside Drive O’Clock, another superlative baby of EBS.Drive O’Clock, conceptualised by innovative Aledeh and operationalised by a triangular intelligent crew of Seriki, Englishman, as well as Soji Abok, is today a pioneer in Africa in impact journalism, delivered wi
h a local Nigerian energetic flavour.It is achieving its mandate of liberating the populace from the capitalist cruelty of human rights abusers.All said, my counsel is that the crew should realise that listeners and viewers of the programme have the right to criticise the presenters, even with malice.Therefore, they should not return the abuse in kind, but instead deploy hard facts, information, and education to counter the mischief of wicked critics.With Aledeh in charge at EBS, the Tuesday night reggae programme of Kingsley Ogbebor, as well as the Sunday afternoon programme of Agbakpan, and the late Sunday evening highlife programme of
Omoaka, have become more robust in terms of content, texture, and presentation style.As of now, I consider the Saturday programme, Una Good Morning Show, as a weak link in the success story of EBS. The programme is not well presented by Rev Orukpe Otubor. It is unacceptable for him to rely on Idele’s deficiencies in conversations about the programme when it is clear that Idele habitually injects personal trivialities into serious discussions on which he lacks relevant information and analytical prowess.More disappointing is that Idele often loses his attention span and struggles to stick to discussion topics, a characteristic trait that
eads him to speak out of turn. He is incorrigible, never submitting to cognitive reconditioning by Otubor, the presenter, to enable him to align with the high standards that Aledeh is setting for the new EBS.So, it is time Idele is weeded out with Aledeh’s winnowing fork so that he doesn’t do more damage to the UNA GOOD MORNING programme started long ago in 1980 by enigmatic Pa Felix Ogie.The producer of the programme needs to ensure that people like Robert Aiyanyi, Gladys Ighalo, Hope Bazuaye, and other talented individuals are recast into the programme after receiving proper education on the editorial policy of the new EBS under Aledeh
an EBS today is on the move. It is not only proper infrastructure that is needed to excel. Additionally, the broadcast station requires high-quality programmes, producers, and presenters to achieve and sustain success.
We commiserate with the families of those who have lost their loved ones in this senseless attack. No one should lose their life while worshipping God.
The news of an explosion in a mosque in Gamboru Market, Maiduguri is another sad reminder of the rising insecurity that has become the unfortunate contemporary reality that Nigerians face.
This is totally unacceptable; the irreducible minimum the government should offer its people is the protection of lives and property.
This administration has failed woefully in this respect and should rise to the occasion rather than resort to rhetoric and playing politics with security.
We commiserate with the families of those who have lost their loved ones in this senseless attack. No one should lose their life while worshipping God.
If these attacks on places of worship continue unchecked, they will not only violate the constitutional right of Nigerians to freely worship but will also create an atmosphere of fear that threatens the very fabric of our religious society.
We call on the Federal and State Governments to take immediate and practical steps to protect our citizens throughout this yuletide season and beyond.
Nigerians deserve more than empty promises and political rhetoric. We need concrete, actionable security strategies deployed on the ground.
This escalating insecurity has become unbearable and must be confronted with the urgency and seriousness it deserves
• Comrade Ini Ememobong is the National Publicity Secretary, People’s Democratic Party
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