“It’s Very Disappointing”: President Bola Tinubu’s Camp Hits EU Again Over Observers' Report on 2023 Election
- A chieftain of the APC, Festus Keyamo, has expressed serious displeasure with the European Union (EU)
- Keyamo, a lawyer, argued that the EU's responsibilities during elections do not extend to investigating claims made by candidates or their allies
- The former minister tackled the union for linking him to fake news circulation during the last poll
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FCT, Abuja - Festus Keyamo, the chief spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in the 2023 election, on Wednesday, July 5, criticised the European Union Observer Mission (EUOM's) 2023 general elections report.
In a series of tweets on his verified handle, Keyamo, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said it is "very disappointing and unfortunate" for the EU observers to have linked him to fake news during the last general elections.
Source: Facebook
Final report on 2023 election: Festus Keyamo disappointed with EU
On Monday, July 3, the former minister of state for labour and employment, had said the EU’s report cannot delegitimise the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vanguard newspaper reported.
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In a fresh rebuttal, the Delta-born politician accused the EU of “taking sides”.
Keyamo's tweets partly read:
“Firstly, their assignment is to OBSERVE AND REPORT. Their mandate does not extend to INVESTIGATING claims made by candidates against one another and reaching CONCLUSIONS on such claims. They are not journalists nor are they law-enforcement officers. They are just OBSERVERS. Declaring any news as ‘fake’ when they don’t have alternative facts or findings by institutions statutorily empowered to investigate such claims is tantamount to taking sides on the campaign trail and trying to defend a candidate against another. And that is very disappointing and unfortunate on the part of these observers.”
EU report links Keyamo, Fani-Kayode to fake news
Recall that the EU, in its final report on Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, tagged Festus Keyamo and Femi Fani-Kayode to fake news reports.
It published some quotes attributed to Keyamo and Fani-Kayode in its final report, which it recently released, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Legit.ng reports that Messrs Keyamo and Fani-Kayode were spokespersons for the campaign of Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate.
The EU stated in its report:
“There was an increased incidence of misleading information in the days leading up to and during the election.
“In many cases, false reports were spread by well-known personalities associated with political parties."
FG rejects EU mission's report on 2023 elections, gives reason
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the federal government rejected the final report of the European Union (EU) election observation mission in Nigeria on the 2023 polls.
This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday, July 2, by Dele Alake, special adviser to the president on special duties, communications and strategy.
Source: Legit.ng
