“How We Were Pressured to Ask INEC to Cancel 2023 Presidential Election” — National Peace Committee

The National Peace Committee (NPC) has disclosed that it faced significant pressure from various quarters to convince the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to annul the 2023 presidential election.

Former Head of State and Chairman of the NPC, Abdulsalami Abubakar, made this revelation on Friday during the presentation of the committee’s comprehensive 106-page report titled “Nigeria’s Pursuit of Electoral Compliance: National Peace Committee NPC 2023 General Elections Report.”

In his address, Abubakar detailed how the NPC was subjected to intense lobbying and covert attempts by certain individuals and groups aiming to sway the electoral process.

“As election day unfolded, the NPC found itself besieged by criticisms and counter-criticisms,” the report states. “We were inundated with phone calls and requests to intervene, with some urging us to press INEC to halt the collation of results due to alleged widespread violations of the electoral act.”

The report highlights how key figures within the NPC, including General Abubakar, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and Fr. Atta Barkindo, were bombarded with petitions, some of which demanded that the committee pressure INEC to cancel the election entirely. A major point of contention was the 25% threshold for votes in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, with some analysts arguing that the results should not be finalized since the president-elect did not meet this requirement.

Additionally, the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, a civil society organization, criticized the NPC for its post-election silence, stating that while the committee had actively promoted peaceful elections, it failed to address the election’s outcome, which could have helped to prevent potential unrest.

In response to these criticisms, the NPC clarified that its role is strictly moral, not constitutional. “The NPC has no mandate to arrest violators of process or interfere with the constitutional duties of INEC,” the report explained, emphasizing that the committee’s primary function is to mediate and encourage peaceful conduct rather than take legal or punitive actions.