“The delay in the electronic transmission of the results of the polling units to the INEC results viewing portal before their announcement at the collation centers raised suspicion in many minds about the transparency of the entire process,” read a statement from Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.

“There is, therefore, palpable tension in the air and agitations not just by some political parties but by a cross-section of the Nigerian population,” he said.

“No matter how long it takes, INEC has to ensure that it does the right thing now to ensure that the sanctity of the collective will of the electorate is not violated, so as to restore the confidence of the citizenry in our government and its institutions,” the archbishop continued. “As the saying goes, it is no use running when one is on the wrong road.”

Tinubu is a Muslim politician from the Yoruba ethnic tribe representing the party of the current president, Muhammadu Buhari, who is completing his second term in office and was not eligible to run again.

Voter turnout was only 29%, far lower than the last election in 2019, and video-documented claims of vote switching and voter intimidation were rife.  

Fulani terrorists had warned the citizens not to go to the polling stations in the weeks prior to the election, according to media reports.

At least 10 citizens who had voted on Saturday were murdered in their shelters late at night after voting, Father Remigius Ihyula, a Catholic priest in Makurdi, said in a text message to CNA. 

Source: CNA