The main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as mere posturing the President Muhammadu Buhari’s warning to candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship rerun polls in six states.
Nigeria’s electoral umpire, INEC, had declared governorship elections in Kano, Plateau, Sokoto, Benue, Bauchi and Adamawa inconclusive, fixing March 23 as date for supplementary elections not to expect him to influence the outcome of the supplementary polls.
President Buhari asked the APC in the affected states to prepare well for the polls, restating that he will not use federal might or interfere in INEC’s conduct of the supplementary elections.
The PDP, however, claim that this is a tactic by the President to divert the attention of Nigerians.
1. #NigeriaDecides2019 President @MBuhari’s posturing that he will not manipulate the March 23 Governorship supplementary elections is not only a direct confession that the Presidency used its overbearing influence to rig the February 23 Presidential election,.. pic.twitter.com/93U55PCbeU
— Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) March 18, 2019
In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said that President Buhari’s pronouncement was a “fresh subterfuge to divert public attention from APC’s rigging plots ahead of the supplementary elections”.
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“The PDP alerts Nigerians, especially those in states where the supplementary elections have been scheduled to hold, to be wary of the antics of the Buhari Presidency, as it has never been committed to free, fair and credible election.”
“President Buhari cannot exonerate himself of the harm inflicted on our polity by the deployment of soldiers in the 2019 general elections, as nobody deploys the military except the President and Commander-in-Chief.”
The PDP also cautioned INEC officials to note that “Nigerians are not ready to accept any results that do not reflect the reality of our victory, which is already known to all.”
