Festus Keyamo, the immediate past Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said the European Union Observer Mission (EUOM) 2023 general elections report does not delegitimize the process.
Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, disclosed this on Monday while reacting to the report through his official Twitter handle.
Recall that the EUOM, in its report less than a week ago, pointed out some flaws in the general election and made recommendations to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
However, the divergence reactions have continued to trail the EU’s conclusion.
Keyamo, a spokesperson for the defunct Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, stated that there is no election worldwide without irregularities.
He explained that the issue is whether the supposed irregularities affected the election outcome.
According to him, the EU’s report is not a document that tells who won or lost an election.
He noted that only the Judiciary can legitimize or delegitimize President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government.
“It is only a forensic examination of the entire process by the judiciary that can determine the extent to which the supposed ‘irregularities’ affected the outcome of the elections. And there are legal rules already laid down to achieve this.
The EU report is NOT (and cannot be) a document that tells you who won or lost an election. It only reports the ‘irregularities’ noticed and recommends improvement in future elections. Therefore, all the hoopla over that EU report is neither here nor there when it comes to legitimizing or delegitimizing the government of the day. That power or responsibility belongs to the Judiciary”, wrote.
