*President Buhari warned ahead of PDP’s post-poll resort to violence – Respondents
“With Peter Obi now screaming from the South East, Secondus and Atiku talking from Abuja even their agent trying to cause commotion on the floor of collation centre and PDP chapters in Northern Nigeria now making inciting statements the way they are making, President Buhari, his Service Chiefs including the DG DSS and Inspector-General of Police and all government officials should know that this is the very time of PDP’s planned post-polls violence they were warned to prepare against,” a respondent said.
With the latest rejection of presidential election outcome in Sokoto State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is now clearly opposed to the outcome of the 2019 presidential election in Nigeria which has been adjudged by members of the international communities and civil societies in the country to be fear, fair and credible.
The PDP, which had his members allegedly diverting sensitive election materials and went to the extent of killing people and mishandling a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and other officials on election duties in Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states, started by claiming irregularities in the yet to be collated election results in Kano State.
On Tuesday, it went on to say another yet to be collated presidential election results in Katsina, President Muhammadu Buhari’s country home state, were full of irregularities and thereby rejecting same.
The latest being what has just come from the Sokoto State chapter of the PDP, which on Tuesday vehemently rejected in totality the conduct and outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections results in the state with a threat to go to court.
That was going on even as an agent of the now clearly desperate opposition party nearly caused issues on the floor of 2019 Presidential Election Results National Collation Centre, at the Internal Conference Centre, Abuja, when he raised a serious complaint that Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, failed to display details of card readers accreditation.
Surprisingly to many, the PDP’s agent said, despite the number of people affected by activities of bandits in the North West states of Katsina, Kano, Sokoto and North East state of Yobe, that the results of voters coming from there were unbelievable. He was however tamed by Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN) who, citing provisions of the electoral law, insisted that the INEC chairman must not accommodate the PDP’s complaint on the floor. Keyamo however reminded the INEC and the PDP that the APC, which he represented, has got quite a lot of complaints against the results the PDP is happy with coming from the South but that “we are keeping our peace because we know where to go”.
The PDP, in Sokoto, described the entire process as one marred by fraudulent actions with the aid of INEC and the police.
It also called for the outright cancellation as well sought for a reschedule of the exercise where it was rigged as well where elections did not hold.
Addressing a press conference, the state party Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Milgoma said the elections were marred by rigging and unwarranted arrest of its agents, members and supporters across the state.
According to Milgoma who accused the police, INEC officials and APC for conspiring to deny PDP supporters and leaders to exercise the franchise in accordance with the provisions of the law.
“Many of our leaders, supporters and party agents were intimidated, arrested and detained to pave way for APC to have a field day for election rigging.
“We are aware and have seen police personnel deployed from Abuja to come and carryout the unlawful task of denying voters their rights,” he stressed.
The party chairman further alleged that evidences of vote buying by APC and nobody, was arrested except members of the PDP.
”There were so many other cases of arrest on our agents in Wurno, Kebbe, Tambuwal, Dange Shuni, Shagari, Sokoto North and South”, he enumerated while citing the arrests of Sokoto North local government chairman, Aminu Ibrahim a.k.a ” No delay” and one Alhaji Muhammadu who was allegedly charged for causing injuries and attempted murder.
The PDP was talking just as its vice presidential candidate Dr. Peter Obi also screamed aloud accusing INEC of disenfranchising over 8 million voters in the South East.
It will be recalled the Federal Government had on several occasion in the pre- and post-presidential election raised the alarm that the opposition PDP politicians were planning to cause confusion in the last so as to discredit the outcome of the 2019 presidential election, which the PDP was quick to deny.
The opposition party also denied the “Leaked Brian Ballard Report” which told them that the 2019 election was naturally billed to be won by President Muhammadu Buhari based on report of his careful and independent investigations in Northern Nigeria.
But the Federal Government, in one of the statements by Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it had got an intelligence report exposing to it that the PDP had therefore resorted to using bribery of major stakeholders in the conduct of the election and violence at some other points to compromise its candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, into victory against President Muhammadu Buhari.
On the even of the just concluded election, an Atiku’s lawyer was arrested for money laundering trying to exchange $4 million meant for compromising INEC officials and voters in Lagos State at the instance of his client, the PDP’s presidential candidate. The FG said PDP had also planned $3 million for each state of the country for same purpose even as Dr. Idris Ahmed early revealed it paid $1 million to each INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), discovery of which, he said, led to the shocking and sudden shift of the presidential polls from Saturday 16 February 2019.
Reacting to PDP’s denial of the leaked Ballard’s report, journalism teacher and poet, Dr. Emman Shehu on Monday in Abuja said although the opposition party denied the leaked report but that “they have implemented resolution the report to the letter”.
In the meantime, A Nigerian in the Diaspora, Mr. Abass Adetunji, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will be blamed if he does not place the security forces on red alert to stop or deal with PDP’s planned post presidential election widespread violence.
He said it was the main interpretation of The Economist EIU’s prediction which said if the President wins the opposition would not find it easy to accept except that they resort to foment trouble leading to widespread of post-election violence.
“With Peter Obi now screaming from the South East, Secondus and Atiku talking from Abuja even their agent trying to cause commotion on the floor of collation centre and PDP chapters in Northern Nigeria now making inciting statements the way they are making, President Buhari, his Service Chiefs including the DG DSS and Inspector-General of Police and all government officials should know that this is the very time of PDP’s planned post-polls violence they were warned to prepare against,” a respondent said.
