Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election - from preparation to verdicts

Staff Writer


Table of Contents

The insouciant and nonchalant comportment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the face of angst that has inbuilt despair among Nigerians is the reason for writing about Nigeria’s February 25, 2023, presidential election, and the outcome. Yes, it’s seven months after the election was conducted by INEC and the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) verdicts in Abuja on September 6, 2023.

Some argued that the entire election was marred with violence, rigging, and corrupt practices and some others argued that it was the freest election ever held in Nigeria, by Nigerians (not ‘Nigeriens’) and for Nigerians.

After the results were announced and Mr Ahmed Bola Tinubu was declared winner, his opponents filed petitions alleging that it was a rigged system.

In this writing, an attempt will be made to describe the different claims by INEC, the petitioners, and the PEPT court about the election and its outcome and why the petitioners challenged the process that led to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu's declaration as the winner by INEC.

We shall consider those arguments from the perspectives of actions ‘before the election’, ‘during the election’, and ‘after the election’.

Before February 25, 2023

The INEC boss travelled to many places and sold to Nigerians, Africans, and the entire world that the election would be the freest and properly conducted one. According to Voice of Nigeria (VON):

“The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has vowed that the 2023 Nigerian elections will be the best as people’s votes will count” (INEC Boss Says 2023 Election Will Be the Best June 26, 2022).

The INEC boss also spoke to an audience in Chatham House, London about preparations for Nigeria’s general election titled: ‘Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: Preparations and priorities for electoral integrity and inclusion.’ This can be viewed on YouTube (Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: Preparations and Priorities for electoral integrity and inclusion)

The INEC boss also announced the timetable for the general election. Particularly, the number three on the list strikes a note:

“Therefore, the Electoral Act 2022, together with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), form the legal basis for conducting all elections in Nigeria. In particular, the Electoral Act provides strict timelines for the implementation of electoral activities based on the date of the General Election” (all highlights and underlines are the author’s for emphasis – Abuja Business Reports, February 26, 2022, Full text of statement by INEC boss announcing dates for 2023 Elections)

Arguments preceding the election date were about the strategies, planning, and designs of the election. It was preparatory. It was about pronouncements, declarations, laws, guides, and regulations. This was the foundation of the entire process.

According to the INEC boss, it was a tested foundation and they claimed that the structure would withstand any cruel and crude electioneering, vote rigging, ballot box snatching, or double or multiple voting. This claim was based on the effective and efficient technological systems that were purchased, configured, installed, and distributed to all nooks and crannies of the federation to ensure that there was a free and fair election.

As part of the preparation, INEC requested N305 billion to conduct the 2023 general elections. In 2011, INEC was given N112.9 billion, and in 2019, INEC consumed N242 billion for election (Understanding the high cost of elections The Guardian, Nick Dazang, January 17, 2022).

It appears election materials and tools are bought every four years. There is no sense in putting in place pieces of equipment that are not durable and cannot be used often. Even NASA with all its budget still reuses space shuttles how much more a struggling economy like Nigeria?

During the Election – 2023

On election day, a new and diametrically opposed narrative emerged. Here is what happened:

According to BBC, World Service Africa:

“The process was marred by long delays as polling stations failed to open on time. The electoral chief blamed logistical and security problems. More than 87 million people were eligible to vote, many of them aged under 34” (BBC – Nduka Orjinmo et al., February 25, 2023 - Nigeria election 2023: Voting day as it happened).

According to Eromo Egbejule on February 28, 2023, writing for Aljazeera noted that three days after the election day, February 25, 2023 “the results are yet to be announced and there is no indication of when that will be. Indeed, Al Jazeera verified that as of 10:54 am (09:54 GMT), only 46 percent, or 81,569 result sheets of the 176,846 polling units nationwide, had been uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) portal. In Abuja, INEC announced results from only 14 states. There have also been numerous allegations of voter suppression and intimidation, as well as outright rigging in parts of the country” (Who’s leading the Nigeria election? All to know about the results | Elections News | Al Jazeera).

On election day, the so-called N302 billion that was earmarked for the preparation of the 2023 general election revealed how prepared the commission was and you start to ask did the commission really spend N302 billion for the election?

There were long delays at polling stations, ballot box snatching, and attacks by armed and masked men. In some areas, there was violence, theft of property, breaking of ballot boxes, and in some other places, polling began three and a half hours after polls were due to close.

And yet, there was an instance when it got dark, the election officials were in the dark and needed light to continue. It was the voters who used their car headlights to dispel the darkness and the voting continued. And in some places, voting did not start on the same Saturday. It was postponed to Sunday. 

Some polling stations did not see INEC officials on time and when some did come, they had little or no knowledge of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). INEC was not prompt with uploading the results from the polling units to the server as their guide or regulation stated which would disabuse any ideas of corrupt practices or rigging. But that was not the case.

As a result, some 2023 election observers opined that INEC was not well-organized and lacked needed competencies at the critical stages of the process. Then, the IReV, the game-changer that would have allowed the public to see the results in real-time never materialized. It was marred with upload errors; uploading results from one polling unit to a different polling unit.

During all those anomalies, and without conclusively collating all the results, INEC declared the candidate of the ruling party as the winner.

After the Election – 2023

Other candidates who contested for the same position – the presidency felt cheated out by the system. Most Nigerians felt duped by the ruling party whose stooge INEC has become.

“Well, if you are not happy with the results, go to court and seek redress.”

That was part of the same law, guide, or regulation that was used to conduct the election.

The aggrieved candidates decided to file petitions alleging that the election was rigged, and other allegations. But if they claimed that the election was rigged, they needed to prove that.

Writing six months ago after the February 25, 2023 election, Reuben Abati argued that ‘Nigeria is a funny country’ and indeed, he was correct.

“The psychology of the Nigerian to adapt to everything and anything is one of the major wonders of the world.  The APC strategists know this. They believe it. It is why they can beat their chests and boast with the authority of the courts. They have not only been declared elected, but they have also assumed the authority of the courts. Meet us there! Their confidence is typically Nigerian. There is no truly independent institution in Nigeria” (This Day September 9, 2023 - Nigeria: February 25 And The Aftermath).

For example, the Labour Party presidential candidate obtained permission from the Court of Appeal on March 3, 2023, to access all the sensitive materials that were used by INEC for the presidential election of February 25, 2023, but his lawyers started to inspect the materials on March 13, 2023, at INEC HQ in Abuja. It took him about two weeks to secure INEC election materials while they had only 21 days from the day election results were announced to file an appeal. Presidential election results were announced on February 28, so the petitioners have until March 21, 2023, to file their petitions. You do the math.

In the above context, Reuben was correct again. The ruling party knew that the moment you’re declared a winner, at least on the presidential level, it cannot be changed. The winning party gleefully on different television stations and social networks make spurious arguments that taunt Nigerians as well as gloat over their exploits.

Already, the president-elect was busy forming his government and was since sworn in on May 28, 2023.

The Verdicts – 2023

First, the petitioners managed to gather the limited evidence made available to them by INEC and file their petitions.

Before the hearings began, they applied to the court and requested that cameras be allowed to the court during the hearings so that the public would see and make decisions for themselves on how their cases were adjudicated. The PEPT court rejected the idea on the grounds that it would be theatrical.

The hearings proceedings went ahead without the public knowing first-hand what was said by different counsels and judges. The information the public had was hearsay from the newsagents and social media chats.

Then on September 6, 2023, the day the PEPT would give their verdicts, they decided to broadcast their verdicts through the media and requested that cameras should be brought into the court.

During the 12 to 13 hours of verdict hearing, you could imagine the tyrannical nature of jurisprudence. The reading of the verdicts suggests inadequacies, lack of common sense, or insights. Elements of shrewdness notable with judges were lacking. It was torturous to watch, hear and understand. The learned gentlemen and women were sleeping, some were chatting on their mobile devices and some struggling to charge their mobile phones while the justices were ranting out their verdicts hidden from the cameras that they introduced to the court. Though the verdict was given during the day, it was a nightmare to watch and listen to.

In the end, the court dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, as well as the petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, and upheld the election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President of Nigeria mainly on the bases of technicalities and insufficient evidence. Arguments about INEC delays in granting access to the election materials and different blockages to access were discounted as lacking credibility.

Moving Forward

The level of corruption in Nigeria and its institutions suggests that the independence of the judiciary is often questionable, at least or does not exist, at most. What happens next? The petitioners still believe in the judiciary and have signaled to their respective counsels to file their cases with the Supreme Court.

Again, back to different television channels and social networks, you can hear and see a broad range of the ruling party’s leaning senior advocates of Nigeria (SANs) asserting that going to the Supreme Court would be a waste of money because the petitioners will get the same verdicts as given by the PEPT. Watching their body language from home you could imagine their arrogance and effrontery that suggests a fait accompli. They do not even pretend to say 'Let's wait until the highest court adjudicates the matter.' Upfront, they predict the judgment that the Supreme Court would give. That suggests one thing: either the judges are compromised in one way or the other, or they lack basic common sense. 

It could not be more apt to Reuben’s argument above. Nigeria is a funny country. I agree that it is a funny place but at the same time, it suffers from moral nihilism. Starting with their corrupt political players, the entire population is gradually rejecting the truths they once knew. They have abandoned the once cherished values. Now meaninglessness of life is commonplace, and absurdity is rife.

With the spate of deaths on every corner and every street, with the levels of corrupt practices in the country, with the insensitivity by the so-called legislature who parcels holiday tokens among themselves while the poor masses are told to tighten their belts; one conclusion comes to mind, these people do not believe in right or wrong anymore. They do not care whether the poor live or die.

Moving forward! Is it to the grave or running away from the country? Either way, it is an escape from the tyrannies of the elites and grifters. But it is a leap of cowardice and a leap into oblivion. 

A farmer has a mango tree in his garden that has grown too tall and its fruits are very toxic to anyone who eats it. Leave it in the garden, it continues to occupy the space and its fruits continue to make anyone who eats it sick or even die. If you are this farmer, what are you going to do? 


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