‘Our sovereignty is at stake’ — protesters picket EU office in Abuja over election report

Members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organization and Political Parties for Good Governance (CCSOPPGG) on Thursday besieged the office of the European Union (EU) in Abuja over the report on the last general election.

The EU had faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the operational challenges and glitches experienced with the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and the result viewing portal.

The EU’s monitoring team said the discrepancies in the elections severely damaged public confidence in the electoral body.

Addressing some EU officials during the demonstration, Lillian Ogbole, CCSOPPGG leader, said though elections are not perfect anywhere in the world, the election that produced President Bola Tinubu was “transparent”.

Ogbole said the EU report could trigger chaos, adding that the country’s sovereignty and security are at stake.

“We were taken aback when the report came, the media was awash with the report of the EU carefully and specifically saying that the election was fraudulent and that the election felt short of requirements of every credible election in the world,” he said.

“I don’t know where that one is coming from. If it is the election that we were all part of, that we all fought vigorously with our lives and everything we have as patriots and well-meaning Nigerians to ensure that the election was held, if it is the same election that the EU spoke about, then it means that something is fishy somewhere.

“You would also agree with me that the report of the EU is enough to trigger a national problem, is enough to trigger a national chaos, our security is at stake, our sovereignty is at stake, our unity is at stake.”