The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday raised alarm, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring a group to cover up the facts about the reality of INEC server which is crucial matter of controversy at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in a suit filed by PDP Presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, Atiku Abubakar.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement accessed by National Daily, declared: “the attention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press release by an amorphous group parading as “Forum of Presidential Candidates of the 2019 Elections and National Party Chairmen” lending support to denial by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the existence of the server it used in the 2019 general elections.
“This group, our investigation reveals, was hurriedly conjured by leadership of INEC and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to assist them in distorting facts, and making misrepresentations on a matter that are already subjudice, all in their attempt to clean up INEC’s blunders on the existence of the server, sway judicial pronouncements and influence public opinion on extant matters in court.”
The PDP, therefore, invited Nigerians to note that the press release by this nebulous group emerged after INEC’s several blunders while the Presidency has already admitted that the claim by the PDP and millions of Nigerians that INEC had a server wherein it stored results of the 2019 elections, “constitutes the fulcrum” of contention in the Presidential election.
PDP maintained that Nigerians are already aware of the existence of the server, which was duly budgeted for, set up in various INEC offices and in which data from the elections, including results, were stored. “Moreover, the ruling of the Court of Appeal preventing the PDP from inspecting the server does not in any way obviate the existence of the said server,” Ologbondiyan said.
PDP, therefore, counseled that instead of engaging in this unnecessary media trial, INEC should have listed its nebulous group as witness in the election tribunal.
“We also challenge INEC to confront the indictment contained in the reports of the European Union and other international agencies which showed evidence that the 2019 general elections were marred by irregularities and violation of rules by the Commission.
“It is, therefore, unfortunate that at a time when the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, ought to be apologizing to Nigerians for the failure of the commission he leads to conduct a credible, free and fair election, a mass electoral failure consequent upon which the nation has over 766 election cases across the country, his commission is now contracting faceless groups to launder its sinking image and pass a confidence vote on Yakubu.
“The PDP, therefore, counsels INEC to own up to its failures put an end to its consistent denials on the existence of the server as justice will be served at the end of the day,” the National Publicity Secretary declared.