A civil rights activist, Comrade Ezenwa Nwagwu has faulted the report of the European Union Election Observer Mission, saying the report was written in a negative tone and undermined Nigeria’s sovereignty.
Ezenwa who is also the Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reform said in a statement in Abuja at the weekend that while the report contained some positive aspects, the negative tone in which it was written leaves much to be desired.
He said that while not interrogating the credibility of the process that the European Union Election Observer Mission used for their report on Nigeria’s 2023 election, “it is important that as a participant election observer and someone who has invested so much in our electoral process, we must take time to educate Nigerians on elections and the electoral process.
“We cannot continue to allow public commentators to discuss elections from the perspective of ignorance of the electoral process and the electoral law. Nigeria is one place where people who are ignorant of a particular issue discuss such issues with so much passion and unless such ignorance is corrected by those who have the right information, we may never make progress as a nation.”
Nwagwu said while he had no quarrel with the European Union and its Election Observer Mission in monitoring elections in Nigeria, he queried the motive behind the EU’s thinking that Nigeria can’t do it well or that there is always a need for the EU to come and help, adding that “at what point are we going to get to where they think we can do it for ourselves.
“Are there EU Election Observation Missions to American, British or French Elections? Why does the EU think that they have to come to Africa every time there is an election?
“Of course, there are arguments to the suggestions that the EU should have a say in our elections since they provide funding support for INEC. First is to look at the percentage of the financial support.
“Unfortunately, as a people, perhaps because of our colonial history, when we have an election, if the EU does not speak, then every other person that has spoken does not matter because they made a financial contribution.”
“I have taken time to look at the 2019 and 2023 reports of the EOM. I have also looked at the recommendations of the 2023 and 2019 elections. I would like to think that for us as a country, in terms of institutional leapfrogging of our electoral process, we did shift the needle. We have made progress.”