Alkali accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of disenfranchising voters, allowing ballot box snatching and stuffing, suppressing votes, and condoning violence and vote-buying during the election. He also alleged that INEC deliberately undermined the NNPP and allowed campaigning on election day by President Muhammadu Buhari and other ruling party members.
"We are deeply concerned that going by what had happened on election day, the election umpire has taken our country back to the pre-2015 era of election where everything goes," Alkali said. "To save our democracy and our country, the present election results must not be accepted by Nigerians and by all friends of Nigeria. We are therefore calling for the immediate suspension of the announcement of results and the cancellation of the 2023 presidential election across the country. A new election should be conducted as soon as possible."
According to INEC's official announcement, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the presidential election with 8,794,726 votes. Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came in second with 6,984,520 votes, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) was third with 6,101,533 votes. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP came in fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
The NNPP's demand for the cancellation of the election results comes as a surprise to many, as the party's candidate, Kwankwaso, came in a distant fourth place. However, Alkali insisted that the party's demand was based on the need to protect Nigeria's democracy and ensure that future elections are free and fair.
The NNPP's call for the cancellation of the presidential election results is likely to spark controversy and debate in Nigeria, as the country continues to grapple with issues of electoral integrity and political stability. It remains to be seen whether INEC will heed the party's demand and order a new election or stand by its initial declaration of the results.