“The most notorious example of this travesty was the case of a man who won the election in one of the Owo constituencies, his NNDP opponent was declared the victor. He thereupon announced that he had (upon deep reflection) (my own words) decided to join the NNDP. A few days after this announcement, the electoral commissioner declared him the successful candidate and quietly dropped his opponent.”
“Despite an all-party consensus to ensure a free and fair election at a meeting called by the then Prime Minister, all agreements reached were widely breached. The UPGA in sworn affidavits submitted to the President of the Republic showed how the agreements to lift bans on public meetings were breached, how permits for rallies in the North were denied and mass arrests of their candidates and polling agents in the North. Besides, the UPGA showed that the NPC/NNA, had perfected a strategy of getting its candidates returned unopposed by arresting UPGA and other opposition candidates to prevent them from filing their nomination papers within the prescribed time.”
|