Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu to instruct the Collation Officers for yesterday’s election to upload the results from the Polling Units to the INEC server immediately.
Atiku stated that this has become necessary to checkmate some governors who are trying to compromise the results at the local government collation level, according to Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to the PDP candidate.
The statement came as many Nigerians are expressing fears that further delays may give rooms for unscrupulous people to begin manipulation of the results
“ It will be a disservice to Nigerians and a negation to democracy for anyone to subvert the will of the people as freely expressed in their votes of yesterday,” Atiku said.
The PDP flag bearers also called on Nigerians to be calm but vigilant to ensure that anti-democratic elements who are masquerading as progressives do not steal their mandate.
“And in what is already turning out to be a nail-biting race in the 2023 Nigerian presidential elections, early results from polling units and exit polls indicate that Atiku Abubakar is projected to become the first candidate to meet the mandatory 25% requirement of votes cast in at least 24 states” the statement said.
“According to the latest projections, Atiku is also set to exceed expectations in at least 10 states, where he is projected to garner over 40% of the votes cast.
The PDP presidential candidate used the opportunity to express his gratitude to the Nigerian people for their support so far and pledged to continue to work hard to earn their trust and confidence.
“We are humbled and honoured by the early projections, which indicate that the Nigerian people have seen in Atiku Abubakar the kind of leader that they want to lead them into a brighter future”.
While it is still too early to predict the final outcome of the elections, Atiku Abubakar’s early success has certainly put him in a strong position as the race enters its final stages.
“From the current figures that are available, Atiku is winning in many states in the 6 geo-political zones. We urge our members and party agents to remain steadfast and watchful”.
The PDP while also speaking through Dele Momodu, the Director of Communications of the PDP campaign organization, stated that its “attention has just been drawn to the recklessly dangerous publication unilaterally awarding an impossible victory to the APC Presidential candidate Chief Bola Tinubu”
“The said newspaper is owned by Tinubu.
Momodu alleged that “thugs of the APC Chieftains and his allies took over the streets of Lagos burning ballot boxes and documents and generally misbehaving in other to disenfranchise the determined electorates.
“Despite all of these ugly attempts at stealing victory, the APC suffered its worst cataclysmic loss in most of the polling centers in Lagos. The same happened in Kano. Incapable of ever being sobered by the crushing humiliation in its traditional territories, we woke up this morning to read about the pathetic and illegal lies cooked up by the Tinubu media goons.
According to the PDP Chieftain, “ Tinubu remains the only mainstream candidate whose homebase of South West was decimated by opposition parties in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti.
He alleged that the Northern Governors he also expected to help him garner votes in the Northern regions failed spectacularly to deliver the badly needed votes. He failed in the South East and South South.
“The only candidate with the national spread is the PDP Presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. But as a responsible citizen and respected statesman, he will never rush to the media to claim his well deserved victory and glory after a long and torturous journey.
“We hereby call on INEC and the Federal Government to cage these troublesome APC Chieftains.
“We have all been witnesses to their unruly behaviour as they did everything to bully and blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari in order to chicken out of the currency swap policy.
“We also witnessed how they practically intimidated the President to the extent of forcing him to publicly display who he voted for in yesterday’s elections.
“It was quite a bizarre, unfortunate and unprecedented scene to watch. We advise the President to find the courage to call the bluff of these desperate politicians who feel they can buy the whole of Nigeria.”
