The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has stated that the Presidency is mounting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to alter results of the election held on Saturday.
This is contained in a statement signed by Lol Ologbondiyan, the PDP national Publicity Secretary. In the statement, he called for the upholding of poll results which according to him are in favour of their party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The statement reads:
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“The party says it is already aware that the Buhari Presidency has been mounting pressure on the INEC and dispatching officials to change results in Rivers, Kaduna , Nasarawa , Kogi , Bauchi, Cross River, Borno, Yobe and Edo states, among others , in a frenzy to allocate fictitious figures to the defeated President Buhari .
“Pathetically , the Buhari ’ s presidency is also threatening the South -East state governors to change results .
“In Bauchi State, we are aware of the plots to move thumb -printed ballot papers and fabricated results from Bauchi to Dass Local Government Area to upturn the PDP ’ s victory in the results already delivered and announced at the polling units in the area . This is why the electoral officials have been delaying moving the results for final collation and announcement . If this plot fails , the APC plans to void the results in Dass . ”
“President Buhari and the APC should therefore quietly come to terms with the fact that they have been defeated .
“The PDP therefore cautions INEC to respect the laws and electoral guidelines by upholding and declaring results from the polling units as expressed by Nigerians on Saturday.”
He also called for the release of Baba Galadima alleged to have been picked up by men of the Department for State Security, DSS.
“We don ’ t know anything about Galadima. He is not with us , ” the spokesman for the DSS , Mr Peter Afunanya , told our correspondent .
Reacting to Galadima’s arrest, the National Chairman of the PDP , Prince Uche Secondus , expressed unhappiness.
“We as a party condemn this arrest in the strongest possible terms . Buba Galadima is a patriot . His patriotism has been previously and strongly highlighted by various Nigerians, including President Muhammadu Buhari .
“What crime has he committed ? I answer my own question and say none . Mr Galadima is constitutionally guaranteed a right of freedom of speech and freedom after the speech .
“The nation is currently boiling with the deaths caused by thugs of the All Progressives Congress. Not one of these thugs has been arrested by the DSS .
He added , “The nation was embarrassed by drone images of bullion vans laden with cash driving into the home of the national leader of the APC and no action has been taken by the law enforcement authorities . Yet a patriot and pro -democracy activist is arrested.“We cannot be hoodwinked by the puppeteering of the DSS by the APC . It is obviously no coincidence that the APC Presidential Campaign Council called for the arrest of Mr Galadima at 12 noon today ( Sunday February 24) and the arrest was duly effected by the DSS an hour later .
“This arrest is only the latest in a pattern of anti-democratic actions by the Muhammadu Buhari administration. ”
