The opposition leader of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has refused to accept the results of the just ended Presidential elections, which has been announced as a victory for President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Atiku, the elections are completely bogus and a disgrace to democracy and his party are going to head to court to challenge the results.
In a move reminiscent of the 2012 Ghanaian elections, the opposition is alleging widespread malpractice and electoral fraud and are heading to court for a legal battle over the results, which is the better route than electoral violence.
Atiku released a statement today after Nigeria’s INEC certified Buhari’s win and gave numerous instances of electoral fraud which he believes invalidates the results.
Read Atiku’s statement below…
“With regards to the Presidential elections that took place on February 23, 2019, it is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced.
“One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states.
“The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015?
“Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations.
“The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship.
“In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect.
“This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future.
“I am a democrat and there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world. Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days.
“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, Feb. 23.
“Year 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 Feb. 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court.”
Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com