Datti Baba-Ahmed Faults INEC Over 4 a.m. Declaration of 2023 Election Results

Former Labour Party (LP) vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has renewed his criticism of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing the commission’s decision to announce the 2023 presidential election results at 4 a.m. as improper and unacceptable.

Speaking during an interview with Symfoni, Baba-Ahmed questioned the circumstances surrounding the declaration of the results, arguing that Nigerians should not overlook what he described as irregularities in the process.

The former lawmaker alleged that the timing of the announcement contradicted earlier expectations and commitments regarding when the results would be made public.

According to him, it was troubling that the election outcome was announced in the early hours of the morning, despite assurances that the process would be concluded and communicated at a later time.

“I keep saying, and sometimes I wonder why we Nigerians just allow everything to pass,” Baba-Ahmed said during the interview.

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He claimed that the then INEC chairman had indicated that the results would be announced by 9 a.m., but instead declared them at about 4 a.m., a move he said raised questions about the credibility of the process.

Baba-Ahmed further argued that an electoral body should be held accountable for announcing a presidential election result at such an unusual hour, insisting that the decision undermined public confidence.

The former LP vice-presidential candidate also took aim at President Bola Tinubu, whose victory in the election was declared by INEC and later upheld by the courts following legal challenges by opposition parties.

He questioned the legitimacy of a government that emerged from a process he believes was flawed, maintaining that concerns surrounding the timing of the announcement have not been adequately addressed.

“And how can you shamelessly be leading a government that was announced at 4 a.m.? Who works at 4 a.m.? Criminals,” Baba-Ahmed said, reiterating his criticism of both the electoral body and the outcome of the election.

The 2023 presidential election remains one of Nigeria’s most contested polls, with the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party challenging the results before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and later the Supreme Court.

However, both courts upheld Tinubu’s victory, affirming the declaration made by INEC.

Despite the judicial rulings, Baba-Ahmed’s latest remarks underscore continuing opposition concerns over the conduct of the election and the manner in which the results were announced.

INEC has consistently defended the electoral process, maintaining that the election was conducted in line with the law and that the declared results reflected the votes cast by Nigerians.