We won’t allow opposition rig future Nigerian elections

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that the ruling party will not allow the opposition to rig future elections in Nigeria.

It rejected claims that the ruling party was solely responsible for alleged irregularities in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, citing a recent independent statistical analysis that it says contradicts that narrative.

According to the APC spokesman in the state, Seye Oladejo, the study conducted as part of a Data Science master’s thesis at Pan-Atlantic University analysed results from more than 123,000 polling units nationwide and found that electoral irregularities were not limited to one political party.

The party said the analysis showed that the highest concentration of statistically significant anomalies occurred in areas considered strongholds of the Labour Party, particularly in parts of the South-East.

It noted that while “Lagos State recorded an anomaly rate of 2.3 per cent, higher figures were reported in other states, including Anambra (24.9 per cent), Enugu (16.7 per cent), and Imo (10.9 per cent).”

The APC further said the report identified a disproportionate number of “perfect scores” in Labour Party strongholds—vote distributions it described as statistically suspicious.

Oladejo said these findings undermine claims that the 2023 election was rigged by the federal government or the ruling party.

He said the study suggested that electoral malpractice in 2023 followed “opportunity rather than ideology,” adding that some parties alleging rigging may have benefited from irregular practices themselves.

The party acknowledged the report’s conclusion that the 2023 election was neither entirely fraudulent nor completely free of irregularities, but argued that malpractice had taken on more subtle forms, requiring greater scrutiny ahead of future polls.

The Lagos APC said it would not allow the opposition to rig forthcoming elections and warned against what it described as attempts to manipulate public opinion through misinformation or post-election narratives.

It also expressed support for electoral reforms, including independent audits of election data, real-time transmission of results, improved technical capacity for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the prosecution of electoral offenders regardless of party affiliation.

The party said it remained committed to protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process before, during, and after future elections.