The defiant opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not yet done with the controversial February 23, presidential election which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday announced President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.
Though some well meaning citizens including a prominent human rights and pro-democracy activist, Olisa Agbakoba SAN, and concerned Nigerian women have been persuading former Vice President and the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to accept the outcome of the poll, the opposition party does not appear to be yielding yet.
PDP Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement said the Buhari Presidency and the APC know that their ‘’electoral robbery’’ cannot stand before any noble justices and are now allegedly attempting to use all sorts of blackmail and shenanigans to derail the quest by Nigerians to reclaim the stolen mandate at the tribunal.
The party is accordingly describing the alleged fabrication being peddled by the Buhari Presidency and the APC that the people’s candidate, Atiku, is making some demands from Buhari as absolute falsehood and outright lies.
The PDP categorically states without mincing words that Atiku had not, and will never, make or accept any condition from President Buhari regarding the alleged rigged presidential election, which they claimed Atiku clearly won.
According to them, ‘’let it be known to President Buhari and the APC that Atiku and the PDP are standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigerians in this collective determination to take back the stolen mandate and we are not ready for any form of negotiation with anybody on this matter.
‘’Our party and candidate remain committed to the huge sacrifices made by Nigerians in ensuring our collective victory as delivered at the polling units across the country; we are mindful of the pains that Nigerians are passing through since the subversion of their will at the polls; we are sensitive to the expectations that millions of compatriots place on our shoulders in this struggle and we will never let Nigerians down.
‘’We have all the authentic results from all the polling units as well as forensic evidence of manipulations by the APC and INEC. We will bare them all at the tribunal and the court will give justice to Nigerians.
‘’On that note, we state unequivocally that nothing will change its resolve to pursue this despicable electoral fraud, unknown in our political history, to its end. We shall devote every energy necessary to reclaim our mandate and have Atiku declared President, in line with the will of the people as delivered at the polling units on February 23, 2019.
‘’Anything short of this is not acceptable and no amount of false reports, connivance, contrivance, intimidation, harassment and fresh attacks on our leaders, including the Director General of our Presidential Campaign, Senate President Bukola Saraki, whose residence was besieged by security agents last night, can alter this resolve.’’
