British envoy already recants earlier comment endorsing outcome of Feb. presidential poll – Akin Osuntokun
Balogun Akin Osuntokun, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) has said that the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing, has faulted the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload results from polling units to its server in real-time during the polls.
Speaking during an interview on Africa Independent Television (AIT)’s ‘Focus Nigeria’ on Monday, Osuntokun, who is the Director-General of the Obi-Datti Campaign Council, argued Laing’s disappointment, as expressed in the circulating video, in INEC’s failure to deliver on its promise to the electorate to transmit results live during the presidential election was a complete U-turn from her initial claim that the February 25 polls were free, fair, and credible.
“I want to draw your attention to the video in case you have not seen it; the British High Commissioner has embarked on some revisionism on her flippant earlier statement that we should be proud of the election. It is a complete U-turn from all that she said earlier. She did mention that it was unusual and suspicious that the BVAS stopped functioning at the point when results were to be transmitted. She also mentioned that she expressed her concern on the issue to the INEC Chairman who said he would take it under review. So, it has gotten to that level.
“Before a British High Commissioner can tell you that the failure to transmit results gives room for suspicion, it says a lot of what they know. But unfortunately for INEC, there is no such thing as an ‘information black hole’ in the world anymore. The real results will still come out,” Osuntokun said.
