Politics
2019 elections: PDP lists reasons why Atiku must go to court
The South West Zone of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said it was fully in support of the party’s presidential candidate in the Feb. 23 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on his decision to challenge the polls result in court.
The National Vice Chairman of the party (South West), Dr. Eddy Olafeso, gave the position at a news conference in Lagos.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Wednesday declared President Muhammadu Buhari as winner of the election.
Olafeso claimed that the Feb. 23 was one of the worst elections in the country’s history, being characterized by irregularities and malpractice.
He said there were many cases of violence and intimidation of voters across the country, apart from the cases of card reader failure which he claimed disenfranchised many.
He said that INEC employed double standards in the different geographical zones of the country to favour the APC.
The PDP chieftain said it was the right of Atiku to challenge what he called a sham, adding that all believers in true democracy should encourage the candidate to fight “the fraud”.
“We are all witnesses to the abuses that characterized the general elections of Saturday 23rd February and the double standards which ensured that electoral guidelines adopted for the election guaranteed different approaches to its conduct both in the Northern and Southern parts of our nation.
“We are particularly amazed when due credence is given to the fact that the number of votes surpassed accredited voters, even more surprising is the many vote cancellations in places where the PDP won,” he said.
Olafeso said the gains recorded in the conduct of the 2015 elections had been eroded by what he called the poor conduct of the Feb. 23 election. He warned that the PDP, particularly in the South West, would resist any form of violence on voters in the next round of gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
Also speaking, a former Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Chief Olabode George decried what he called the massive irregularities of the Feb. 23 elections.
George said the results of the elections did not reflect the will of the people as supporters of PDP were intimidated through violence, while others were disenfranchised.
He, however, called on supporters not to be discouraged by incidents of Feb. 23, but come out en masse to vote the party‘s governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, and state assembly candidates of the PDP.