INEC Result of 2019 Presidential & National Assembly Elections Does Not Represent Will of the Nigerian People  – Atiku Abubakar of the PDP

The former vice president of Nigeria and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23, 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, stated in a press conference that he rejects the INEC result that declared the incumbent President Buhari as the winner. The former presidential aspirant proffered many demographic and statistical data that showed gross irregularities and sloppiness by the electoral umpire, INEC, which appeared to have been deliberately made to favor the incumbent president and the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). The calm and composed Atiku expressed satisfaction that Nigerians had opted to adopt a democratic system of government for the nation. He, however, quickly remarked that Democracy can function as the “government of the people by the people…” only if the will of the people prevails. How the INEC handled the February 23rd polls was clearly a negation of the people’s will. “On that day, we saw the grand theft of the people’s will”, said Mr. Abubakar.

He revealed that the numbers, on which the INEC declared Buhari to be the victor, were statistical impossibilities. After citing the irregularities and inflated/suppressed numbers from many destinations around Nigeria, he surmised the electoral fraud perpetrated by the Buhari administration cannot produce the government of the people because the will of the Nigerian people was grossly violated. He declared that his party, the PDP, has the real numbers of votes polled on that day and therefrom, the actual winner in the said elections. He then declared that he rejects the results announced by the INEC as the outcome of the presidential polls. He went on to say that he is presently consulting widely, not just within his party ranks, but also with the Nigerian people.

Mr. Atiku pleaded with Nigerians who have become angered and disillusioned by the INEC’s heinous act, to remain calm and steadfast. He noted that after his involvement in the politics of Nigerian democracy for more than three decades, the 2019 presidential election is the worst he has ever seen. He pleaded with his co-partisans and supporters to stay strong because he is certain that he shall prevail in the end.

He pleaded with the international community to moderate the disgust with the incumbent governance of Nigeria because any punitive economic acts against the country can only aggravate the miserable lives of the ordinary people. He observed that the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market lost the whopping sum of N85 billion just on the very day that INEC had declared electoral victory for Buhari. He reminded the international investors that the villains here are not the Nigerian people but rather “those who stole their mandate”. They should, therefore, reconsider their decision to divest from the Nigerian economy.