PDP calls for mass protest to INEC offices over election results manipulation

OBIORA IFOH, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on its members to match to all the INEC offices across the federation to protest the manipulation of election results in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party alarmed that the National Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu is executing the script of the ruling party by declaring results where the ruling party is on the lead while results were declared inconclusive and even truncated against the opposition party where PDP is on the lead.

The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan in a press conference on Monday at the party’s National Headquarters, Wadata House Abuja disclosed that party members have been directed to occupy all INEC offices in the affected states to ensure that the stolen mandate of the party is restored.

He said, “Today, majority of Nigerians and the global democratic institutions are questioning the state of our democracy and electoral processes, which have been under siege under the supervision of President Buhari and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

“In the light of these INEC’s manipulative tendencies, PDP therefore charges our leaders, teeming members and lovers of democracy in the affected states to immediately commence a march to INEC offices and use all legitimate means to protect our mandate as freely given by the people at the polling units across the nation.”

Ologbondiyan said that the party have always conducted its protests in a peaceful manner and will recover all votes that were freely given to the PDP but declared inconclusive or suspended by the electoral umpire.

“The PDP has full intelligence of how INEC is acting on instructions from the Buhari Presidency and the APC in orchestrating unwholesome situations and declaring already concluded governorship elections in Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau as well as other states as inconclusive, immediately it becomes obvious that the PDP was set to win.

“This also informs the foisting of unexplainable stoppage and delays in the announcement of already collated results in other states where the PDP is clearly leading the race, from the results so far declared at the polling units.

“Our party has also been informed of how INEC is now seeking ways to use the situation to aid the APC to alter the results and announce APC candidates as winners in the elections clearly led by the PDP just as it did in the 2018 Osun State governorship election.

“In some of the states like Rivers, the PDP has information of plots by APC to leverage on the declaration by INEC to unleash more violence in the state and push for isolated election where they can bring in more security forces to concentrate on forcefully taking over the state.

“Already, in Rivers State, INEC is under heavy pressure from the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organization and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, to post out and replace the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) as well as the Administrative Secretary.”

The party mourned the death of about 58 persons who lost their lives during the elections adding that the over militarisation of the electoral process has marked the election as the worst in the history of the country.

The PDP cautions Prof. Yakubu and his INEC to perish the thoughts of altering any figures for the APC and to immediately announce all PDP winning results in states where its candidates clearly won, in accordance with the results already declared at the poling units, wards and local government collation.

INEC has already declared the governorship elections results of Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Sokoto and Adamawa as inconclusive while Rivers state are suspended.

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