Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party , Atiku Abubakar , and the National Chairman of the party , Prince Uche Secondus, have shown video clips of alleged rigging of the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections in the country to members of the National Peace Committee headed by a former Head of State, Gen . Abdulsalami Abubakar ( retd.) .
They presented the videos in Abuja on Thursday night.
Among those who watched the clips with the former head of state were Cardinal John Onaiyekan and Bishop Matthew Hassan
PDP members who were at the meeting , which held at the Asokoro, Abuja residence of the former vice – president , included the PDP vice – presidential candidate, Peter Obi ; President of the Senate, who is also the Director- General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council , Bukola Saraki ; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives , Yakubu Dogara.
It was gathered that Abdulsalami had been trying to meet with Atiku and his team since the announcement of the election results by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu , in Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday .
Announcing the Yakubu had said that candidate of the All Progressives President Muhammadu Buhari, won with 847 votes as against 11, 262, 978 polled by Atiku of the
The former vice -president and his party had rejected the results and said they would seek redress in
meeting with the Abdulsalami – led on Thursday investigations by one of our correspondents showed that to the NPC members how the members of the PDP were and denied the opportunity to cast their votes in many
It
was also gathered that Abdulsalami and members of his committee were
shown video clips of how soldiers allegedly brutalised PDP members in
some states and the sacking of some polling units by thugs suspected to
be loyal to the ruling party without the security agents who were
present taking any action.
The video clips were said to have been watched by other NPC members in attendance.
A source, who was at the meeting said , “At a point during the meeting , we decided to show video clips of how soldiers helped the APC to rig the elections in some states . We also showed them how security agents looked the other way when thugs invaded polling and coalition centres in some states.
“We asked the retired General whether that was how he used the military to conduct the 1999 elections . But instead of replying, he laughed and laughed. I think he was trying to tell us that he is a different person or something like that .
“We told him how the late Head of State, Gen . Sani Abacha, did not pretend during his transition period that he wanted to be the sole candidate of all the five registered political parties then . We now said that President Buhari ought to have told Nigerians that he wanted to be the sole candidate so that we would have known how to address the matter from the outset, instead of using the military to achieve what he could not have achieved by claiming to be the sole candidate. ”
It was also learnt that Obi , who is a former governor of Anambra State, said he had to leave his home in his state on the eve of the election because of the activities of security men who allegedly terrorised his area .
It
was gathered that Atiku told the NPC members that he was surprised that
they did not do anything despite all the issues raised by his party
after he joined President Buhari to sign the peace agreement.
He was
said to have claimed that the country was already divided and that he
regretted signing the peace agreement because of the events that
unfolded after .
“At a time, the Waziri ( Atiku ) became
emotional . He said he regretted signing the Peace Agreement because
members of the committee did not attend to complaints by the PDP after
its signing and before the conduct of the elections , ” another source
added .
Osinbajo justifies APC ’s victory
But at the meeting the
Abdulsalami – led committee had with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo ( SAN)
, also on Thursday night , the committee members were told that the APC
did not rig the elections.
It was gathered that Osinbajo, a
professor of law and an ordained pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church
of God , said the ruling party ’s victory was not a fluke .
Sources
at the meeting said the vice -president analysed the voting pattern and
concluded that there was no way the PDP would have won the elections as
being claimed by members of the main opposition party .
The source said , “The Vice President told us how the APC deserved the victory it got and how President Buhari had transformed the economy and worked on the security architecture of the country . He spoke on how the Federal Government had used the military to restore peace to the North- East.
“He said the APC got the huge number of votes it got from the North- East because the voters wanted to show gratitude to the President and his team . He also explained how the President had usually got huge number of votes from both the North- East and North- West even when he was a member of a small political party that did not have any structure .”
At the end of the meeting , our correspondent learnt that Cardinal Onaiyekan told the vice -president that the President must pursue reconciliation and that it would not be good to have a divided country .
“The Cardinal told him ( Osinbajo ) that the
Federal Government must listen to the people , pursue reconciliation ,”
the source added.
Meanwhile, Atiku said that his decision to resort
to legal means to claim his alleged stolen mandate was not discussed at
his meeting with the Abdulsalami committee.
A statement issued by
his media aide , Paul Ibe , said the former vice president had also
called on Nigerians to vote for the PDP on Saturday .
He said , “The
issue of Atiku Abubakar and his party ’s recourse to legitimate actions
to reclaim his stolen mandate was not discussed at the meeting . Atiku
Abubakar restates that as a democrat , he will follow laid- down
constitutional and democratic procedures to challenge the electoral
malfeasance committed by the APC in cahoots with the INEC.
“Atiku
Abubakar further urges Nigerians to come out en masse and vote in the
March 9 gubernatorial and state Houses of Assembly elections for the PDP
candidates and stay to defend their votes up to collation point .”
We ’ve presented Atiku ’ s grievances to Buhari – Abdusalami
Meanwhile, the Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar ( retd ) – led National Peace Committee members on Friday held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari .
The
meeting was a follow -up to a similar one the committee held with the
presidential candidate of the PDP and his running mate, Mr Peter Obi ,
over the outcome of the poll .
Speaking shortly after the meeting ,
the former head of state said the committee presented the grievances of
the PDP and Atiku to the President.
The peace committee, which
had Cardinal John Onaiyekan and the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese ,
Hassan Matthew Kukah , in attendance, arrived at the Presidential Villa
about 3 pm to meet with Buhari.
The meeting , which was also attended
by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress , Adams
Oshiomhole, lasted one hour , ending at 4pm.
On the discussions
at the meeting , the former head of state said , “ Atiku presented his
grievances and his observations ; he did not present any condition, he
gave his complaints, which we have presented and discussed with Mr
President to see what can be done. ”
Abubakar added that a similar
meeting the committee held with Atiku a day earlier was to see how peace
would flow from the presidential election across Nigeria .
“Yesterday,
l met the PDP presidential candidate and his party in order to ensure
peace . This is what this committee is really after , our concern is
about Nigeria . And in order to listen to their grievances and what they
think has gone wrong, we are here today to see his Excellency the
President to relay the fears and concerns of the PDP to Mr President.
“He listened to us and has taken note of what we have told him ,” Abubakar told State House correspondents. ”
…we have assembled more than 18 lawyers – Secondus
Success Nwogu , Abuja
The
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party , Uche Secondus, on
Friday said the party had assembled more than 18 lawyers to go to court
to contest the declaration of the presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress , President Muhammadu Buhari , as the winner of
the February 23 presidential election.
He stated that the party was
not under pressure by the National Peace Committee headed by a former
Head of State, Gen . Abdulsalami Abubakar ( retd) , or any other group
not to go to court .
He spoke with journalists in Abuja .
He
said , “ They have been intimidating and freezing the accounts of our
members weeks before the election . Up till now , some people are being
detained and harassed . That is ongoing . We are in a police state.
Right now , the entire country has turned to a police state . That will
not discourage us from going to court . As for court , we will go to
court . We are not fighting . We will go to court . No pressure
whatsoever . We have assembled more than 18 lawyers . ”
The Legal
Adviser to the PDP , Mr Emmanuel Enoiden , said the party would unveil
the legal team on Saturday . He declined to name the members of the
legal team but said they were among the best legal brains in the country
.
He said , “We are prepared to go to court . We have put together a
legal team that will handle the legal proceedings . We are ready . PDP
is a formidable party so we will go for the best . We won the election ,
we were only robbed of the victory and we are ready to reclaim the
victory. If we must reclaim, we know we have to put together the best
legal team , legal minds in the country to do that .
“We are
unveiling the legal team tomorrow . I will not tell you the members
until it is unveiled. I have no powers to mention any of them . Of
course as the legal adviser to the party , I should be part of the team.
”
Secondus said the report of some foreign and local observers that the elections were credible, free and fair was incorrect.
He
stated that the foreign observers might have made such report to save
their lives as he noted that the foreign observers were threatened that
they would return in their body bags by the Governor of Kaduna State,
Mallam Nasir El – Rufai .
“There is nobody that will stop us from approaching the court , we will go to court and bring all these things that both the international observers and others have not seen. We will bring them to court . I believe that justice will be done at the court . If we continue to suppress injustice and go sentimental , the country will begin to pile up gun powder that will explode someday .
“There is so much injustice . If you allow it and it continues to pile, nobody knows what will happen . So that is why we decided that as good citizens and law -abiding people who believe in the rule of law , we will go to court . We are not going to depend on the comments of the observers that were threatened .
“They were threatened and so what do you expect them to say ? They have to go home with their lives. So they were threatened and silenced , they cannot talk. So , it is our responsibility as good citizens to bring this to the public and to go to the court , so we are going to court . ”
He also said the party would study INEC proposal for supplementary elections and take appropriate decision .
He also said the party would contest the declaration of the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, as the winner of the Orlu Senatorial district election. He alleged that the governor and his agents forced the returning officer to announce Okorocha as the winner of the election.
