Buhari, APC panic as PDP appoints 14-man investigative panel on 2019 presidential election

There are indications that the resolve of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to appoint a 14-man committee to investigate the outcome of the 2019 presidential and other elections, may have sent the president and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) panicking. Since the decision was taken at the emergency meeting of the PDP NEC on Thursday, the principal beneficiaries of the presidential election under investigation were said to have been ruminating over their records on the election results.

PDP appointed Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State chairman of the committee, while the Deputy National Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, was appointed Secretary.

Members of the committee include Austin Opara, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives;  and Senator Stella Oduah, Francis Ogbonna Nwaifuru and Austin Nnamani, appointed representatives of south-south and southeast.

Others include former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, and former Minister for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Taminu Turaki SAN, representing north-west; former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Aliyu Babangida, and Senator Istanfanus Gyang, appointed representatives of the north-central; while Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker of the House of Representatives; and Hassan Muhammadu, were appointed representatives of the north-east.

It was noted that there were no nominations from the south-west for appointment into the committee which has the mandate to report findings to the PDP NEC.

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The emergency NEC meeting of the PDP was convened on Thursday after the party NWC had on Wednesday demanded the review of the presidential election judgement by the Supreme Court, after complaining of APC abuse of court processes and intimidation of judges.

PDP candidate in the 2019 elections, Atiku Abubakar, was declared by the INEC to be defeated by President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 2019 election  in 15,191,847 votes to 11,262, 978 votes. The Supreme Court had dismissed Atiku’s petition for lack of merit after the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal had upheld the election of Buhari.

The PDP had settled with the adjudication of the court but the for frivolous suits of the APC on the Bayelsa and Zamfara judgements which provoked the re-awakening of other judgements in favour of APC which PDP leaders were not bothered.

The uncertainty of the findings of the committee may have sent the president and APC fretting as the panel commences sitting, a party source said.