#Nigeria Decides 2019:Why I am heading to court – Atiku Abubakar

Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations. The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015?

Admin l Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019

ABUJA, Nigeria – Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has outlined the reasons he has opted to go to court, instead of congratulating President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been declared winner of the February 23, 2019 Presidential election.

He said he is heading to court as a result of widespread malpractices, in most cases pepertrated by government agencies and that he would have not only called to congratulate President Buhari but would have assisted in building bridges if the contest was free and fair, devoid of official interference.

“If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South”, he said.

In alluding to the election held in 2007 that brought in the late President Yar’Adua, he said, 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful, adding that “in 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people”, he noted.

He explained that in struggle for democray in the last decades, he has not seen democracy so debased.

“However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South.

“I am a democrat and there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world. Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days.This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future.

“In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect. The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship.

“Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations. The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015?

“One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states. With regards to the Presidential elections that took place on February 23, 2019, it is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced.

“I thank the Nigerian people who trooped out in their millions to perform their civic duty this past Saturday. The patriotism of Nigerians is heartwarming and affirms my oft-repeated statement that we are brothers and sisters born from the womb of one mother Nigeria”, he said.