•Asks International Community To Impose Sanctions
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the international community to immediately impose sanctions on President Muhammadu Buhari for making prejudicial statements against petitions filed before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
At a press conference presided over by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the opposition party condemned Buhari’s statement, which it said suggested that APC’s presidential candidate and President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
“Nigerians and the international community are therefore appalled, horrified and scandalised by the careless, unguarded and sub-judice comment by President Buhari in which he attempted to justify the rigging of the February 25, 2023, presidential election by the APC under his watch” the party said.
According to the PDP, “this statement reveals the utter disregard that General Buhari has for our constitutional democracy, judiciary and the will of the Nigerian people as expressed at the February 25, 2023, presidential election.”
The opposition party added: “It is reprehensible for Mr. President to posture and gloat over the trampling of the will of Nigerians, blame the opposition for being overconfident and, according to him, for not being “tactical”, perhaps enough to outwit the violence, brutality, threats, suppression of voters, rigging and election manipulations by the APC and the government which he heads.
“It is unpardonable that President Buhari, who swore to uphold the laws of our country and made several commitments to the world to ensure free, fair, credible and transparent election is rather in approval of election rigging through manifest compromise of INEC system and widespread alteration, falsification and switching of election results in favour of his rejected party, the APC.
“President Buhari is practically gloating over the undermining of democracy by INEC which refused to transmit directly results from the Polling Units to its Server/Website and announce same, in total violation of the express provisions of Section 64 Sub-section 4 (a) (b) of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
“More distressing is that President Buhari, by his sub-judice comments apparently seeks to bully, blackmail and influence the judiciary and the outcome of the petition pending before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal so as to allow his party, the APC and its candidate to “grab, snatch and run” with the people’s mandate.”
The PDP insisted that, “our party and candidate, Atiku Abubakar, clearly won the February 25, 2023, presidential election as shown by the authentic results from majority of Polling Units across the country.”
It added: “The PDP did not lose the presidential election as claimed by President Buhari and we are not willing to surrender the mandate freely given to our party by the people irrespective of the threats, bullying and manipulation by the APC-led administration.”
