Presidential election ‘grand theft of people’s will,’ Atiku insists

Presidential election ‘grand theft of people’s will,’ Atiku insists

Former vice-president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has again condemned the results of the just concluded presidential election, describing it as a grand theft of the will of Nigerians.

Atiku who has threatened to take legal action, stated that there were clear manifestation of premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced.

Speaking during a World Press Conference at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, on Wednesday, he noted that democracy was a government of the people, by the people, only when the people’s choice prevailed.

He argued thus, “That did not happen on Saturday, February 23, 2019. On election day, we saw the implementation of grand theft of the people’s will.

“In Akwa Ibom, for instance, the results showed a statistical impossibility of a 62 per cent drop in voter numbers from the 2015 elections, even where voter registration and PVC collection rates were much higher than in 2015. This is where voter suppression took place.

READ ALSO: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Atiku Abubakar rejects results, heads for court

“Our party made these observations and complaints before the elections that there were plans to implement voter suppression on PDP or opposition strongholds and voter increase in APC strongholds.”

Atiku had earlier, on Wednesday morning, released a statement stating emphatically that “Democracy Will Not Be Emasculated in Nigeria.

It reads in part: “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?

He explained in the statement that “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.”

The former vice president stated that in his democratic struggles for the past three decades, he has have never seen Nigeria’s democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019.

Consequently, he said, “I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court. I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now