2023: Intersociety Raises Alarm Over Uncertainties Around Presidential Election

The International Society for Civil Liberty and Rule of Law, (Intersociety), has raised the alarm over the forthcoming presidential election scheduled to hold on Saturday.

The board chairman, Intersociety and convener of Eastern Democracy and Human Right Coalition, Emeka Umeagbalasi who addressed a press conference in Enugu said that there are eleven issues which, if not addressed, could mar the presidential election.

Umeagbalasi said the media conference was necessary to help relevant authorities tackle the highlighted critical areas and issues most likely to mar the February 25th presidential poll.

He described the 2023 Presidency as Nigeria’s last chance of getting the country back on the right track or pushing it into what he termed intractable complex uncertainties.

He said: "There may be far-reaching consequences and social control system breakdown after the 2023 presidential poll if the presidency of South-East extraction is scuttled or denied.   

"Elected presidency of the South-East must pluralistically ensure equitable distribution of nineteen top political and security offices among Nigeria’s six geopolitical regions.

"Fearing youth mob uprising against South-East political bootlickers and counterfeit Biafra agitators if 2023 presidential poll and South-East presidency project are violently disrupted and denied.

"Like in the 2019 presidential poll, the Nigerian Military must be closely monitored and stopped from militarizing and terrorizing the Feb 2023 presidential poll and paving way for a predetermined outcome.

"Like in the 2019 Presidential and Jan 2020 Imo Governorship Supreme Court travesties of justice, the Nigerian Judiciary must be closely monitored and stopped from a disgraceful repeat of the 2019 armada of judicial hara-kiri in the post 2023 Presidential Poll litigations.

"Dark days of Zainab Bulkachuwa at the Court of Appeal and Muhammed Tanko at the Supreme Court must not be repeated in 2023."

The group further alleged that INEC is putting the February 2023 Presidential Poll in danger by failing to answer sixteen critical questions over permanent voters’ cards, voters’ list, underage, presidential poll date and voters’ protection."

They also highlighted the most dangerous areas for Igbo voters in Lagos and Northern Nigeria requiring Election Day international monitoring and effective policing and voters’ protection, adding that Imo and Ebonyi States as the most dangerous areas for independent and conscientious voters in the East must be closely monitored.

They alleged that 4000 mostly Christians killed and 6000 abducted in Kaduna since 2015 under El-Rufai over radical propagation of the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

The group canvassed that "election day global searchlight and monitoring should be a must in twelve major presidential polls rigging Northern States of Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Bauchi, Yobe, Adamawa and Niger so as to disallow  18m “dead votes” from being injected by INEC into the February 25, 2023 Presidential Poll final results.

They warned that there may be far-reaching consequences and social control system breakdown after the 2023 presidential election if the Presidency of South East extraction is scuttled out.

The group also urged other parts of the country to support Nigeria's Presidency of Igbo extraction.