A Christian group under the aegis of the National Prayer Altar has called for a thorough investigation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu over the alleged rigging and manipulation of the 2023 general elections.
Describing the 2023 general elections as the worst in Nigeria’s history, the National Prayer Altar, a daily trans-denominational prayer initiative of Christians from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, Christians in the diaspora, as well as nationals of other countries, said INEC actively sought to frustrate the electoral process.
"It is imperative that INEC be interrogated about its handling of the 2023 elections, and the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, be properly investigated unless this public officer is beyond the laws of the land,” it said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the NPA, jointly coordinated by Pastor Bosun Emmanuel and Prof. Kontein Trinya, said, “The appropriate human and civil rights organizations in the country should commence a process towards that interrogation, as a precedence in future electoral engagements.”
The statement was signed by the leaders of the group in six geopolitical zones namely: Bosun Emmanuel (South-West), Kontein Trinya (South-South), Sylvester Mbamali (South-East), Linda Ndache (North-East), Alabi Mojirade (North Central) and Hauwa Kure (North-West).
It was also endorsed by 174 Nigerians from all the geopolitical zones and the Diaspora.
In its State of the Nation address, the Christian body stated that those who rigged elections can neither claim to have been ordained by God nor to mean well for the people. It added that "nothing good comes out of fraud".
On petitions arising from the fraudulent elections which are before the Election Petition Tribunals, the group said the judiciary is now on trial as Nigerians will in a few months’ time pass their judgement.
It said, "While the world watches on as the current electoral cases go on at the Tribunal, let it be known that it is the judiciary that is on trial this time, not so much the elections, for Nigerians across political and other divides know the truth. In the weeks to come, Nigerians shall pronounce their verdict on the judiciary, whether guilty or not guilty."
Commenting on the recent fuel subsidy removal, the Christian body said it was done without appropriate remediation for the plight of the masses.
It said it can be likened to the story of King Rehoboam in the Bible. "Soon as Rehoboam was up on the throne, he demonstrated a gross lack of empathy with the hardships of the people. The nation was soon destroyed under him.
"A Yoruba proverb warns that the eye that would see the evening does not stir dust in the morning. By its austere ‘welcome greeting,’ the APC appears to have affirmed that it is set to afflict Nigerians with more suffering than they had endured under Buhari."
It added, "Unfortunately, it is the same political group that, in 2012, vehemently opposed and castigated the former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, for attempting to initiate the same process that they now hail. The hypocrisy is choking."
The group, however, lambasted the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) over their congratulatory messages to President Bola Tinubu for winning the February 25 presidential election while the matter was still being contested in court.
The group disassociated itself and its members from the said congratulatory messages to Tinubu, regretting that "Christian leaders who have appeared helpless and speechless in the face of the ongoing massacre of Christian communities in Nigeria would be so prompt to endorse persons and structures that have posed the greatest existential challenge to their brothers and sisters.
"It is sad that CAN would write a letter of congratulation to a government whose legitimacy is still in contention at the courts. It seems to announce, sadly, that CAN supports the Muslim-Muslim ticket which it had all the while appeared to vehemently oppose. It is worrisome irony smacking of hypocrisy.
"It is sub judice, not righteousness, to so take sides, especially as election results are not only being challenged but the conduct of the election itself has been globally condemned for its many apparent constitutional violations."
On PFN, the group said, "We hope that the appropriate organs of the PFN will redeem the image of that respectable Fellowship by calling an enquiry into how and who had authorized the letter and the worrisome congratulatory benedictions pronounced upon persons of publicly disputed legitimacy."