Nigeria’s government blasts Obasanjo for issuing a fraud warning.

The Nigerian government has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of attempting to “undermine the electoral process” and “incite violence” after he questioned the legitimacy of Saturday’s election results.

“Though masquerading as an unbiased and concerned elder statesman, former President Obasanjo is, in reality, a known partisan bent on undermining the choice of millions of Nigerian voters,” said Information Minister Lai Mohammed.

“A self-respecting elder statesman is expected to speak and act in ways that relieve tension and serve as a soothing balm.”

Mr. Obasanjo said in a statement released Monday night that tensions were rising in the country due to questions about whether the elections were fair and transparent.

The 85-year-old asked President Muhammadu Buhari to “let all elections that do not pass the credibility and transparency test be canceled”.

Mr. Mohammed, on the other hand, claimed that Mr. Obasanjo was not “qualified” to advise Mr. Buhari. The statement was tweeted by the information ministry: “In his time, [he]organized perhaps the worst election since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999,” Mr. Mohammed was quoted as saying in the statement.

Mr. Obasanjo had warned of a “looming danger” if allegations of voter fraud were not addressed.

Mr. Mohamed accused the former leader of promoting “unverified claims” and “wild allegations picked up from the street”.

He then praised the electoral body, saying it had acted “creditably,” and citing preliminary reports from the regional body Ecowas’ Electoral Observation Mission and the Commonwealth Observer Group.

He added that anyone could challenge the election’s conduct in court, but urged Nigerians to wait for the electoral commission to release the official results.