ECOWAS, AU, UN caution on rejection of election results

Buhari, had, during the signing of the peace accord, appealed to his fellow presidential candidates to commit to the ideals of peace so as to keep Nigerians safe.

ECOWAS, African Union and United Nations have cautioned Nigerian political parties to refrain from rejecting results of elections which were being announced.

The bodies urged aggrieved political parties to wait to conclusion of the exercise and thereafter take legal action to seek redress.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had on Monday rejected the results.

The rejection was made by the National Chairman of the Party, Mr. Uche Secondus as they were being announced.

A statement released in Abuja on Tuesday said the attention of ECOWAS, AU and UN has been drawn to the rejection of results of the presidential elections conducted on “3rd of February.

They noted that one of the participating party has rejected the result even when they are at the verge of being released.

“ECOWAS, AU and UN call on all the candidates, political parties and indeed all Nigerians to continue to exercise patience, calm and restraint in order to allow for the full results of the elections to be released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“At the conclusion of the process, all aggrieved parties and persons are encouraged to resort to legal means to seek redress in accordance with the constitution and relevant laws of Nigeria and its previously agreed in the peace Accord of 13th February, 2019.’’

The European Union Election Observation Mission(EU EOM) had earlier described the final peace accord signed by the presidential candidates ahead of the 2019 presidential election as a very strong message to Nigerians.

Maria Arena, Chief Observer, EU EOM, spoke with State House Correspondents, said in Abuja, after she led the mission to a private meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinabjo.

She said that the participation of the two front runners at the peace accord was significant.

The duo of President Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress(APC) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) alongside 70 other candidates signed the final peace accord on Wednesday.

Buhari, had, during the signing of the peace accord, appealed to his fellow presidential candidates to commit to the ideals of peace so as to keep Nigerians safe.

He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had already assured that it had done everything possible to ensure free and fair elections.