South Africa’s election showed Nigeria’s 2023 polls ‘shameful, fraudulent’: Peter Obi
Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023, has lauded the South African national election, saying it exposes Nigeria’s fraudulent polls held last year.
A week after South Africans went to polls, Mr Obi, in a statement shared on his X handle, said, “The outcome of the recent South African election results remains a shining example of what a transparent and efficient democratic electoral process should look like.”
He added, “Nigeria’s electoral process is mired in controversy and lacks transparency. This glaring juxtaposition is a painful reminder of our country’s ongoing struggles with democratic governance.”
Lauding the South African election’s 60 per cent voter turnout, diaspora voting, and results updates in real-time without any form of technical glitches, Mr Obi said, “This is in stark contrast to the show of shame that the giant of Africa, Nigeria, gave the World in 2023.”
“Nigeria’s 2023, with less than 30 per cent of the voter turnout and over 60 per cent of the polling stations starting late, no diaspora voting, the elections were plagued by allegations of fraud and widespread irregularities, all forms of glitches, despite an enormous expenditure to the tune of about a billion dollars (direct allocation of N313 billion and donor agencies supports), Mr Obi added.
Mr Obi’s outburst comes several months after the Supreme Court affirmed President Bola Tinubu, winner of the 2023 presidential election.
The South African election was held last week Wednesday. It was adjudged the country’s most competitive since 1994 as the African National Congress failed to win majority seats for the first time.
Incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC polled 40.21 per cent of the votes cast, a huge decline from the 57 per cent it polled in 2019. John Steenhuisn’s Democratic Alliance came second in the election, polling 22 per cent of the votes.
Newly formed former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe polled 15 per cent of the vote, displacing radical Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighter party, which polled nine per cent.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Lagos
Lagos: At least one killed in Fadeyi building collapse
The Lagos government said the cause of the collapse had not yet been determined and relevant regulatory agencies would investigate it.
Anti-Corruption
APC presidential campaign alleges Tinubu ministers paid billions for appointments to loot
A lot of ministers pay billions and billions, and you know, to get themselves appointed, the first thing they think of is how to recoup that money,” said Mr Hassan.
Politics
Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign: Police restrict movement of heavy-duty vehicles in Kaduna
The police have restricted the movement of heavy-duty vehicles in Kaduna from midnight to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s visit.
States
Brake Failure: Trailer kills seven in Gombe multiple-vehicle crash
The Gombe sector commander of the FRSC, Samson Kaura, confirmed seven people were killed in a multiple-vehicle crash.
Health
NAFDAC uncovers illegal herbal products factory in Lagos
NAFDAC has uncovered an illegal herbal products factory in Agege, Lagos, where unregistered products were manufactured under unhygienic conditions.
Health
Seven things to know about Shamonda virus first detected in Nigeria
France reported the first-ever human case of the Shamonda virus, typically found in livestock, after a patient in their 60s with a weakened immune system died in the hospital.
