The Presidency has disclosed that President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration worked assiduously to bend the electoral system in its bid to scuttle the victory of the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) during the 2015 presidential election.

The Presidency’s position was contained in a statement signed on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled, ‘Assent into law of the electoral act 2022: Landmark moment for the nation’.

The Presidency argued that Jonathan’s government tried everything within its power to leverage its 16 years incumbency in thwarting the outcome despite the margin of the overwhelming vote polled by Buhari during the election.

The presidency said, “It is easy to forget that the election of 2015 was the first time in the history of Nigeria that power peacefully changed hands at the ballot box. It was the first time any party or candidate not from the incumbent PDP had won a nationwide contest since the re-establishment of democracy.

“This came despite the then administration pulling every lever of its sixteen-year incumbency to bend the electoral system to its advantage.

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election by a 15 per cent and a 4 million vote margin in 2019 was therefore equally decisive: it was the first time a non-PDP administration had even been returned to office to a consecutive term.

“The last two contests represent the levelling of the political playing-field between long-time incumbents and long-time opposition by sheer force of citizens’ determination for change. Nigerians voted so decisively for the President and the APC, and the margins so significant that the result could not be in doubt.”

The Presidency, however, admitted that despite the victory, it was not a reason to ignore the fact there have been inadequacies in electoral law – and therefore electoral practice.

The evident inadequacies, the Presidency said, spurred the president to assent the Electoral Act 2022 after the back and forth on some controversial provisions of the bill.

The Presidency added that the assent underscores the perfect workings of a parliament and executive both driven by new energy to deliver change in Nigeria.

“This of course runs parallel to that which we witnessed in the past when self-interest overrode the nation and the fashioning of electoral acts.

“More than anything else, this law underscores the government’s commitment to ensuring free and fair elections, dignity of the citizens, opportunity, and justice to all political participants whether they are voters or candidates.

“This law furthers social empowerment and inclusion by limiting the influence of money on elections and raw power of incumbents to use to the disadvantage of opponents outside the political tent.

“It equally limits the thuggish practice of kingpins who scare voters and officials away, snatch ballot boxes to fill desired outcomes against the popular wish,” the Presidency said.

https://punchng.com/jonathans-govt-tried-to-bend-electoral-system-against-buhari-presidency/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1646058917 Mynd44 Lalasticlala

Una still dey blame Jonathan?

Nigerians voted so decisively for the President and the APC, and the margins so significant that the result could not be in doubt.”

Lies by liars as usual.INEC website shows how Buhari benefitted from manual voting in 2015.Figures obtained from the website of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have confirmed the extent of manual voting in the 2015 presidential election.

According to a report on the commission’s website, the All Progressives Congress (APC) got most of the votes cast without bio-metric verification during the election.The report confirms an earlier analysis by TheCable on the voting statistics.

According to the report, 13,536,311 votes were cast manually during the 2015 presidential poll, representing 42.6 percent of the 31,746,490 accredited voters.

Of that number, the INEC report showed 10,184,720 votes representing 75 percent of the total votes cast were from states won by Muhammadu Buhari, then presidential candidate of the APC, while 3,351,591 votes representing 25 percent came from states won by Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Data from INEC
The report also showed that 10 states mostly affected by manual voting include Kebbi, Zamfara, Niger, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Kano: the APC won in nine of the states.

CONTROVERSIES, SHOCK
The initial story published by TheCable regarding the issue was received with both shock & controversy.
While some doubted the authenticity of the report and argued it was fabricated, others expressed disbelief, especially considering the lingering controversy on the use of card readers.

But data from the commission has now laid all that to rest.When contacted by TheCable on Friday, Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, declined to comment.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thecable.ng/confirmed-inec-website-shows-how-buhari-benefitted-from-manual-voting-in-2015/amp

Whoever believes this is a zombie

Same way the failure was rigged in during the 2019 election as well. Even after about 7 years in govt, they are still blaming, blaming, blaming and blaming.

Same people that have bastardized our electoral and democratic processes, though Buhari have signed the amended electoral act. Failures glorifying themselves in their failures.

These guys are just sadistic in their thinking, going to 8years now you are still obsessed with Jonathan presidency?

You can not impregnate your wife na Jonathan cause am

Mumu people everywhere

Ok

After 8 years....

Irredeemables..

They are fighting GEJ name till their tenure expires

Yet some fools believe these are the people that want to give GEJ presidency again

But jona was not president for 16 years

Lolssss... Says ppl who massively used Underage voters and immigrants from Niger

Truth is coming out gradually.

Even the only memorable legacy of handing over to an opposition by the fantastically corrupt administration of HE GEJ is not without the GEJ-led administration's cringe-worthy notorious signature of obscene corruption. smh.

All the enemies of Nigeria will lose las las. They always lose. God bless Nigeria for ever.

Mad people .... Nagging and wailing for 7 years to distract the masses from the current hardship occasioned by fuel scarcity, inadequate power supply and astronomical increase in prices of basic goods and services

We wish they succeded

We are a couple months towards the end of a eight year Buhari government, but Garba Shehu and his co-travellers are still stock in blaming the Jonathan government that ended in 2015.

#jonathaniscuming.

After 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 years?!

Few days to the end of his bad leadership after 8 years Buhari is still blaming Jonathan

ok

These shameless guys are determined to play the blame game till the end of their tenure.

Let them just finish and go. We sha know they don't have anything to offer.

Buhari's children should not be allowed to get in Nigeria, we can't afford to let his offsprings to circulate again.

Agarba mumu

Cow people nai vote for am

True

They tried many things, but none worked. Bubu still won overwhelmingly

Stupid idiot purging from the mouth

Garba Seun doesn't know what he's saying.

any one called Garba no dey ever get sense...

Will this mai suya shut his gutter up?


Idiotic scalawag of no reasonable value!

FreeStuffsNG:
Truth is coming out gradually.

Even the only memorable legacy of handing over to an opposition by the corrupt administration of HE GEJ is not without the GEJ-led administration's notoriety of obscene corruption. smh.

Oga keep quiet there. you and your eye service. The same Buhari benefitted immensely from manual voting in areas where card readers were not working.

bhh