candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Abubakar Atiku
Wednesday denounced Nigeria’s presidential election as a sham, and accused
rival President Muhammadu Buhari of stealing the vote.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has refused to sign the result sheet of
the Presidential election which was announced by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.
INEC had on Tuesday night declared President Muhammadu Buhari of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) re-elected, having won the highest votes of
15,191, 847 to defeat, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP who polled 11,262,978
votes.
Atiku in a statement said his supporters and party members experienced
widespread violence throughout the campaign, as well as deep
irregularities in the counting process.
” If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the
victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just
my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a
bridge between the North and the South.
“However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have
never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23,
2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful. In
2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their
noses down on the Nigerian people.
“Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham
election and will be challenging it in court.”
He urged his backers to remain calm for the sake of Nigeria, and vowed his
party would emerge stronger in the following days ahead.