Pulse.ng : Off season elections: UNYF berates Yiaga Africa, alleges partisanship in imo state

By Sani Idris

The Unified Nigerian Youth Forum (UNYF), has berated Yiaga Africa's in the off season elections that took place in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi state, while alleging that Yiaga Africa was partisan from their reports especially on Imo state.

Addressing a press conference on Monday in Kaduna, the Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Cmrd Aliyu Muhammad, noted that while the results of Imo and Kogi states was been declared by INEC based on the wishes of the people of the states, that of Bayelsa was being expected.

He noted that as a custom of UNYF, they sent observers to the three states to monitor the conduct of the elections.

"As usual, our interest remained how to deepen our democracy with whatever results that were made available to us. As an NGO, we are not partisan and therefore have no affiliation to any of the political parties.

"As at this morning, reports from our field officers indicated that the elections in Bayelsa and Kogi experienced pockets of violence but not to the point of impugning on the integrity of the results. Both the security agencies and other institutions involved in the conduct of the election did their very best to ensure that the wishes of the people reflected in the results,"he said.

However, Muhammad explained that the situation of Imo was completely different as the election was free, fair and credible.

"Going by the fears of many that Imo was a volatile area, it turned out to be false. This is not to say that there was no untoward incident in isolated areas. Some vote buyers were arrested as already reported by the media and some people who wanted to disrupt the collation of state results were forcibly removed from the hall.

"By and large, the election held in all the 27 local government areas of the state. Where there was voter apathy like in the metropolis where people were angry over power cuts by NLC, the results reflected as such,"Muhammad noted.

The UNYF President, therefore expressed shock that Yiaga Africa turned in completely different account of what happened in Imo state.

He however, said "Some of us are not surprised anyway because we know the antecedent of the group in question.

"If Nigerians can recollect Yiaga Africa's report during the general elections was against the victory of APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

"In the same vein, its support also went for the candidate of a particular political party and its candidate in Imo state, So they wrote a report to suit the whims of the said party and their co-travellers

"It is instructive that all the demands of one of the loser are what the Yiaga Africa is parroting. That means that their positions are the same.

"Yiaga Africa is not only partisan but their opinion is tainted with bias fuelled by political considerations.

"Take for instance where they reported that elections didn't hold. There was no empirical evidence provided, the time of their being there, who they talked with etc. All they did was to regurgitate what the Labour Party candidate told them. That is why we are urging Nigerians to ignore the jaundiced report by Yiaga Africa as far as the Imo election is concerned"he said.

He commended INEC for holding the most peaceful, free , fair, and credible elections in Imo state among the three states involved in the off season elections.

He also commended the security agencies for ensuring that voters came out freely to vote in Imo state.