Election tribunal: S/West PDP backs Atiku, accuses INEC of double standard

The Southwest chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday declared it’s support for the decision of its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the party’s leadership in rejecting the result of the 2019 presidential election.

The zonal chapter equally urged the party leadership to immediately commence the process of challenging the results of Presidential election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which announced President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the exercise.

PDP National Vice-Chairman (Southwest), Dr Eddy Olafeso, made this known in Lagos at a press conference, declaring that the party’s candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar won the election and, therefore, President Buhari’s was a stolen mandate.

“Buhari cannot celebrate, this is a stolen mandate,” Olafeso said.

Addressing a press conference alongside the former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George; former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope and other Southwest PDP leaders, Olafeso said the election where President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC was declared the winner was characterized by violence.

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“We are all witnesses to the abuses that characterized the general elections of Saturday 23rd February and the double standard which ensured that electoral guidelines adopted for the election guaranteed different approaches to its conduct both in the Northern and Southern part of our nation.

“While it is compulsory that card reader is employed in the South and absolute requisite for ballot casting, it was put in abeyance in the North, yet the election was meant to produce the President of the Federal Republic, this is a double standard and totally unacceptable,” he said.

Also speaking, Chief George called for an investigation into two bullion vans allegedly driven into the Bourdillon, Ikoyi, Lagos residence of the APC national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, on the eve of the presidential election, saying that the Nigeria laws prohibit possession and movement of huge cash around.

He said it was very unfortunate that Tinubu in the name of his party in control of centre brought two bullion vans loaded with cash into his house and still went ahead to confirmed that the money contained in the bullion vans belonged to him.

“Then someone will ask,  who should be number one to be prosecuted for money laundering? It is unfortunate when someone is going off track and the system is not there to checkmate, what guarantees that the people will continue to respect that system? Is it one-sided policy we have in this country? he queried.

“People don’t even know that they were loaded with cash until he confirmed it himself, do you have right to carry such cash around? Is your house a Central Bank? These are things the pages of history will not forget, and our children will ask the question whether it’s acceptable in a civilized society like Nigeria.  Bola Tinubu must be brought to book, otherwise the campaign against corruption will be baseless and useless,” Chief George said.