Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike has flayed the European Union Election Observation Mission’s (EU-EOM) report on the 2023 general election, describing it as an “interference” with the country’s internal affairs.
In its final report on Nigeria’s 2023 election presented on June 15, the EU-EOM faulted the conduct of the February 25 and March 19 polls.
The report exposed that the election lacked transparency, inclusiveness and accountability.
It also offered several recommendations for consideration by the Nigerian government that would improve future elections.
But on Monday, Wike told the EU Ambassador to Nigeria Samuela Isopi that the report is an inaccurate account of how things played out during the last elections.
“Even though we have passed that era, I sincerely do not agree with the European Union on its stand on the past election in Nigeria,” the Minister said.
“I do seriously take exception to its stand because we thought there was no need for you to interfere in Nigeria. Rather, you observe and make a recommendation, but your interference came when election petition tribunals were going on.”
The ex-Rivers Governor faulted the data-gathering technique employed in the report. “Take Rivers state, for example. I ask: How many of you were in Rivers state to visit the 6,886 – or thereabouts – polling units?” he queried.
“If you saw some infractions in about 20 polling units, is that enough to make a general conclusion? I felt that as the sitting governor, you were trying to indict me for not allowing the state to have a free democratic process. And that is not the correct thing to do.”
In her defence, Isopi explained that the EU-EOM assessed the process of the last election in “tandem with international agreements and treaties signed and ratified by Nigeria.”
“The purpose was not to determine whether the elections were legitimate or not but to analyse the process and afterwards make recommendations. And the report offered 26 recommendations,” she added.
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