Protesters storm EU office in Abuja, demand withdrawal of report on 2023 elections

Hundreds of protesters Thursday marched to the European Union Office in Abuja to register their grievances over last week’s reports released on the 2023 general election.

The EU mission in its report pointed out that the discrepancies noticed during the severely damaged public confidence in the electoral body.

But the Presidency insisted that the yardstick and assessment of the EU Mission cannot determine the credibility and transparency of the country’s elections.

However, the protesters who besieged the EU office in their numbers described the report as ridiculous.

They said the report was capable of creating chaos in the country and the country’s unity and security at stake.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Lilian Ogbole said there was nowhere in the world that election is devoid of crisis and hitches.

She stated: “We have come to register unequivocally that we are not satisfied with the report of the European Union.

“As a matter of fact, we are of the opinion that the report is not just ridiculous but a deliberate act to slight the Nigerian entity and of course by implication our leaders and the government of Nigeria. We are all Nigerians here.

“I would like to say to you very clearly that there is nowhere election in the world that is devoid of crisis and hitches. Every election comes with its peculiar problems. Nigeria is not an inception.

“Yes, we are aware that the world is a global village, therefore, people from different parts of the world converge in various countries during elections to monitor, observe and make presentations like the EU has done. But what we found unnecessary, what we found not worthy is the manner in which the report was made.”

They called on the EU to urgently withdraw the report and come up with another report that would be favourable to Nigeria.