Nigerians in Diaspora under the platform of the Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria (GCSDN), has described the February 23 Presidential election as a sham thereby rejecting the purported re-election of Muhammadu Buhari as President.
The global coordinator of the coalition, Frederick Odorige, in a statement issued from Budapest, Hungary, obtained by the Next Edition, described the election as “ill-fated and the worse that he had seen since he was born.”
He noted that the election was marred by killing, apparent rigging, ballot box snatching and destruction of ballot papers by hired thugs.
He also decried the militarization by soldiers loyal to Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Odorige, “An election that culminates in the killing of 47 unarmed Nigerians is not an election.”
While noting that no cases of violence was masterminded by any of the presidential candidates from the new political parties, the coalition lamented “the sad fact that Nigerian youths surrendered themselves to their oppressors by allowing self-seeking politicians to use them as paid thugs instead of aligning with young presidential candidates to actualize the dream of a new Nigeria.”
The coalition alleged that “votes were insidiously awarded to young presidential candidates in such a way that the popular candidates among them were awarded very low number of votes in order to demoralize their enthusiastic followers.”
Odorige disclosed that through a general questionnaire answered by members of the coalition from 32 countries, 100 percent responded that the election was clearly not free and fair, while 95.5 per cent further agreed that some persons who played disastrous roles in the election should be declared persona non grata.
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He listed some prominent Nigerian politicians; among them President Buhari as allegedly giving permission to Nigerian soldiers to participate in the elections and thereby approving the killing innocent Nigerians.
The coalition insisted that Nigerians in the Diaspora would continue to mount pressure on the international community to disregard the positions the persons forcefully occupy and that whenever the listed persons travel abroad, Nigerians shall legally congregate and embarrass them as permitted by law.
Odorige called for the forensic examination of all card readers and the finger prints on the ballot papers because he strongly believes that the same persons thumb printed thousands of ballot papers in favour of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP as shown in various video recording.
The statement further read: “As long as we continue with this ballot box and ballot paper nonsense, Nigerian elections will continue to be theatres of war.
“We must quickly develop an electronic voting system for the 2023 elections where data in our PVC are transferred to our telephone sim cards that will enable Nigerians to vote from the convenience of their homes.
“Nigerian elections will continue to be theatres of war unless we reduce the salaries of politicians strictly according to the law as stipulated by the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
“A Senator must not be earning more than a Permanent Secretary and no former governor must receive pension. Politicians kill Nigerians not because they want to serve us, but because they want to serve themselves and their families through looting and receiving mind blowing salaries.”
