Nigeria’s opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has released N11 billion each to manipulate and alter results in Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina state.
PDP spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba in a statement on Sunday claimed that the ruling APC is pressurizing the Independent National Electoral Commission to do its bidding.
“The Peoples Democratic Party is alarmed by reports in the public space that Governors Aminu Bello Masari, Nasir El-Rufai, Abdullahi Ganduje and Bello Matawalle of Katsina, Kaduna, Kano and Zamfara States respectively are allegedly mounting pressure on officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission to alter the results of the February 25, 2023 Presidential elections in favour of the All Progressives Congress,” the PDP claimed.
“These desperate APC governors are allegedly pressuring and blackmailing INEC officials to manipulate the results and transfer massive votes validly cast for the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to the rejected APC and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
“Our party has been informed that this nefarious scheme by the APC governors is responsible for the stalling of collation of election results in Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara and other APC States where the presidential candidate of the APC is alleged to have released over N11 billion per State to rig the election in his favour.
“This, our party has been made aware, is responsible for the unexplained delay in the transmission of election results from the said States to INEC Server in Abuja and the commencement of formal announcement of results by the INEC Chairman.
The PDP also alleged that, “There are reports that the situation is heightening apprehensions and is capable of triggering a breakdown of law and order in these States if not immediately addressed and election results as cast at the Polling Units are transparently collated and transmitted to INEC headquarters in Abuja.
“The PDP in the strongest terms demands that the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu cautions the Commission’s officers in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Zamfara States not to tamper with the results of the election as cast at the Polling Units.
“The INEC Chairman should also direct the immediate transmission of the results to INEC server.
“The APC governors must respect the will of the people as expressed at the ballot as anything to the contrary will be firmly resisted by Nigerians.
“The PDP continues to call on the public to be calm, remain at alert and use every means necessary within the ambit of the law to ensure that their will is not subverted by the APC,” the statement said.
