Polls: Obi, Atiku reject Tinubu as President-elect, blast INEC

 

Obiora Ifoh, Abuja

The Labour Party, LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi has said that one is only qualified to assume the title of His Excellency if the process through which one is elected is excellent and sufficiently credible.

 

Peter Obi also vowed that he will follow all available legal and peaceful procedures to reclaim his mandate.

 

While addressing a world press conference, Thursday in Abuja, the presidential candidate said that one can not be a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) unless he studied law; and as such, you can only be president if you pass through the process for such office.

 

The LP candidate came third in the last weekend presidential election but he said he has sufficient proof to show that the result announced was pre-determined and that he actually won the election.

 

He said, “Datti Baba-Ahmed and I remain absolutely undaunted and deeply committed to this project of a New Nigeria that will be built on honesty, transparency, fairness, justice and equity. All of these starts with the process -The process through which people are elected to office is as important (if not more important) than what they do thereafter with the office and authority

 

“If we seek to be called Your Excellency, then the process through which we are elected should also be excellent or sufficiently credible to generate the required confidence and moral authority to govern and lead. As you all know, the destruction of a society can be a gradual or sudden process through acts such as deliberate refusal to obey the rule of law and via the suppression of the will of the people.”

 

Obi said he was saddened by the destruction of properties and deaths of some of his supporters in the course of the election.

 

“We continue to pray for the repose of the souls of all Nigerians killed during the campaigns and for those that were violently attacked, we pray for their quick recovery. We reiterate our total condemnation of such attacks and continue to demand that security agencies stop further attacks and bring perpetrators to book.

 

“The commitment and resilience of Nigerians, even in the face of unwarranted and barbaric attacks is a testimony that a New Nigeria is Indeed POssible.  The Lady, Jennifer Efidi who was stabbed but insisted on exercising her right to vote and indeed all Nigerians who voted during the election are the shinning stars leading us to a New Nigeria!

 

“The election has been conducted and results announced as programmed. It is a clear deviation from the electoral rules and guidelines as we were promised and did not meet the minimum criteria of a free, transparent, credible and fair election devoid of voter intimidation and suppression, and late commencement of voting in some specific states.

 

“This will probably go down as one of the most controversial elections ever conducted in Nigeria. The good and hardworking people of Nigeria have again been robbed by the institutions and leaders whom we trusted.

 

“However, let me humbly and most respectfully appeal to all Nigerians to remain peaceful, law-abiding and conduct themselves in a most responsible manner. Please be assured that for Datti and I, and indeed for all of us, this is not the end, but the beginning of the journey to birth a New Nigeria.”

 

He however urged his supporters to continue with their campaigns and troop out on Saturday 11th March 2023 to vote massively again for Labour Party in the Governorship and State Assembly Elections.

Also, The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it has rejected in its entirety the declaration and return of the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as President-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

 

The PDP demands that INEC immediately withdraws the Certificate of Return issued to the Presidential Candidate of the APC and cancel the Presidential election declaration in line with its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022.

 

The Party in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba insists that INEC in declaring the APC Presidential Candidate as winner, acted contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and the INEC Guidelines and Regulations for the conduct of the 2023 Presidential election.

 

The PDP holds that its Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar clearly won the February 25, 2023 Presidential election having evidently scored the majority of lawful votes cast by Nigerians at the Polling Units.

 

“Sadly, the election was marred by deliberate malpractices including the non-use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC’s refusal/failure to transmit directly the results from Polling Units to its Server/Website in flagrant violation of Section 60 (4)(b) of the Electoral Act 2022.

 

“This violation of the Electoral Act by INEC as attested to by political parties, voters, Nigerians of all walks of life as well as local and International Observers, paved the way for the alteration, falsification, switching of results and allocation of figures in favour of the APC.

 

“Nigerians can recall how on Friday, November 11, 2022, INEC through its National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’ Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, assured that results will be transmitted directly from the Polling Units to ensure the integrity and credibility of election results in Nigeria.

 

In his words, “Our attention has been drawn to reports in a section of the media of alleged plans by the Commission to rig the 2023 General Election by abandoning the direct and real time electronic upload of Polling Unit results to INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal…

 

“The Commission has repeatedly reassured Nigerians that it will transmit results directly from the Polling Units as we witnessed in Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections…. The IReV is one of the innovations introduced by the Commission to ensure the integrity and credibility of election results in Nigeria. It is therefore inconceivable that the Commission will turn around and undermine its own innovations. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and IReV have come to stay for voter accreditation and uploading of polling unit results in real-time in Nigeria”.

 

PDP said that by refusing therefore to transmit directly the results from the Polling Units, INEC violated the Electoral Act and its Rules and Regulation, compromised the process and marred the integrity and credibility of the election results.

 

“The PDP therefore asserts that consequent upon the violation by INEC of Section 60 (4) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and its Rules and Guidelines on the election, the results announced by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, having not been earlier transmitted DIRECTLY from the Polling Units before the announcement are ultra vires, of no consequence and cannot stand.

 

“Consequently, our Party and its Presidential Candidate have commenced action for legal redress to reclaim our victory in the 2023 Presidential election.

 

“We appeal to our numerous supporters in Nigeria and across the world to remain calm, resilient, resolute and steadfast in the defence of democracy and the victory of our Party in the 2023 Presidential elections.”

We’re ready to meet in court, APC replies Obi

 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has expressed readiness to meet the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who has vowed to drag President-elect Bola Tinubu to court over the result of February 25 poll.

 

The ruling party in its reply to the threat has said that it is ready to meet Obi in court.

 

In a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, Obi said that he won the election, but was allegedly robbed of victory, even as he hinted that he would prove that he won in court.

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had on Wednesday declared the Presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu as the winner of the election.

 

Reacting, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said the party welcomed Obi’s decision to seek redress in court as an aggrieved party if he is convinced of the pieces of evidence of electoral fraud he will present before the tribunal as alleged.

 

Part of the statement read, “Going to court is part of the electoral process and it is the most decent, statesman-like and civilised course of action to take. We salute the decision. It is surely better than calling supporters to the streets and instigating social unrest.

 

“Before Mr. Obi goes to court, we consider it necessary to challenge some specific claims in his press address. Contrary to his statement, it is not true that the election held on 25 February was not free and fair.

 

 

“The 2023 election is one of the most transparent and peaceful elections in the history of Nigeria. It is because the process was credible that made it possible for Mr Obi’s Labour Party to record the over six million votes it got contrary to the pre-election forecast.

 

“That Labour Party and Mr. Obi surprised bookmakers by winning in Lagos State, Nasarawa, Plateau, Delta and Edo where there are sitting governors of either the APC or the PDP. The Labour Party also swept the entire five South East states under the control of either APGA, PDP or APC.

 

“We believe that the Labour Party’s presidential candidate contradicted himself and exposed himself to public ridicule by suggesting that the election was only credible in states and places his party won.

 

“We need us to forewarn Mr. Obi, that when he gets to court he should be prepared to tell the world how his party won over 90% of votes in his region of South East while other parties got almost nothing. We have evidence of voter suppression, intimidation and harassment in the South East especially of those who came out to vote for our party.

 

“Also when Mr. Obi gets to court, he will have to convince the court with his allegation of rigging in over 40,000 polling units across the country, especially in the North West and North East where his party had no party agents and did not sign result sheets as required by law. It is our assumption that the Labour Party will enlist PDP agents to prove its fraud claims since it is an affiliate of PDP.

 

“The President-rlect who was the candidate of our party won a Pan Nigeria mandate in a free, fair and credible election.

He is ready and prepared to assume office so he can serve the people of our country with sincerity and honour.”