The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency welcomed the report but emphasized that the party’s electoral successes did not depend on external validation.
However, the opposition Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) questioned the basis on which the report concluded that the 2023 polls accurately represented the will of Nigerians, given the evident irregularities.
The report, issued by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour within the US Department of State, detailed human rights practices and violations across various nations, including Nigeria.
The report seen by the press on Thursday also stated that there were reports of campaigning at polling stations, lack of ballot secrecy and various irregularities during the country’s 2023 elections
According to the report, the recent general elections in Nigeria were deemed to reflect the will of the people, despite significant irregularities.
The report highlighted allegations that supporters of the APC impeded voting in Igbo-dominated areas during the Lagos gubernatorial election in March 2023.
The report partly read, “National elections were widely reported to have reflected the will of voters, despite technical and logistical difficulties, and some irregularities.
“Many independent observers who assessed the results of the presidential, legislative, and state-level elections during the year reflected the will of voters despite reports of voter suppression and vote-buying, campaigning at polling stations, lack of ballot secrecy, violence, and intimidation.
“During the March 18 state election in Lagos, All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters reportedly intimidated and suppressed voters in Igbo-dominated areas, which Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, won in the February 25 national election.
“Viral videos on social media showed APC supporters in Ojo (LGA in Lagos) threatening to attack ethnic Igbo voters presumed to be pro-Obi.
“In Eti-Osa, APC supporters also attacked journalists and, in some cases, shut down voting and prevented non-Yoruba voters from accessing polls. They similarly destroyed property and physically blocked voters in Amuwo-Odofin.
“According to videos posted on social media, police officers were present but failed to respond to attacks.”
However, in response to the report, the two primary opposition parties, the PDP and the LP, reaffirmed their dedication to enhancing democracy in Nigeria, notwithstanding its imperfections.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, in a telephone chat with Vanguard said: “I am yet to read the report but one thing we, as a party, can assure Nigerians is that we remain committed to the advancement of democracy in our country.
“We are also committed to ensuring that our country does not become a one-party state or slide into dictatorship.”
Speaking in a similar vein, his counterpart in the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, said: “With all said and done, we take solace in the fact that the report was fair enough to admit that there were irregularities, including but not limited to vote buying, ballot box snatching, intimidation and physical attacks on our party supporters, especially in Lagos.
“The report was magnanimous enough to note that supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, suppressed votes in areas dominated by our supporters during the March 2023 governorship election in Lagos.
“To say the outcome of such an election reflects the majority view of Nigerians is left for the people to judge. Our commitment to the development of democracy in Nigeria remains unshakable.”
The Deputy National Organizing Secretary of the ruling party, APC, Nze Chidi Duru, stated that the party had moved forward, focusing on advancing Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
Duru said: “It (report) is a welcome development but I want to restate that we do not need any external validation on the outcome of the 2023 general election.
‘’That election, as far as the party is concerned and as far as the people of Nigeria are concerned, is now behind us and we are looking forward to the 2027 general election.
“All the infrastructure of government at all levels, whether it is at the federal, state, local government or ward level, are already in place. Our councillors, National Assembly members and governors have been elected and are in place.
‘’Where there are issues arising from that election, those elections have been contested at the courts and we know that the courts have heard and given their well-considered ruling. So, we have gone beyond that.
“We also believe improvement, development and change are constant things and then as a government, we will continue to encourage and fund INEC in a way that empowers them to be able to further improve the electoral process in Nigeria.
“As we continue to march on the path of democracy, we hope to continue to conduct elections that would reflect the will of Nigerians.
“So, in a nutshell, as much as this is welcome, we do not need any external validation. Elections have been conducted and those elected have assumed offices and where there are disputes, they were taken to courts and the issues have been resolved.”
Similarly, the Presidency, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, asserted that INEC “conducted a free and fair election.”
Onanuga emphasized that electoral bodies worldwide do not conduct elections flawlessly without any errors, and he also dismissed the claim of voter suppression in Lagos State.
The presidential aide said, “INEC conducted a free and fair election. We don’t need any foreign country to validate or make our election free and fair.
“The report doesn’t require any validation. As far as we are concerned, it was a free and fair election. We (the All Progressives Congress) won the election.”
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