Although the election results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission give victory to President Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, his opponent and his supporters are not convinced

By Olu Ojewale

IT is not 2015 all over again. In the 2015 presidential election even before the final results were announced the then President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, conceded defeat and congratulated Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for winning the presidential. Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP, is not so magnanimous. Abubakar has, indeed, rejected the victory of President Buhari in the presidential elections of Saturday, February 23. He said the election was a sham and that he will be challenging it court.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had, Wednesday morning, February 27, declared Buhari winner of the poll. Buhari scored 15,191,847 votes while Abubakar scored 11,262,978.

But in a statement Wednesday entitled: ‘Democracy Will Not Be Emasculated in Nigeria,’ Abubakar alleged that democracy was debased in the conduct of the elections.

He charged that there were premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced.

“One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states.

“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?

“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 militarisation of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship. 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. This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future,” he said.

Abubakar said many international observers had given their verdicts, which corroborated with some observations made by his party members. “I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days,” he said.

That notwithstanding, he said: “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.”

Contrarily, in his acceptance speech delivered at the campaign headquarters, Abuja, Buhari thanked Nigerians generally for electing him for another four years.

He specifically commended Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the APC and co-chairman of the Presidential Campaign Council, and Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of the party.

Buhari also commended the international community for their interest in the development of Nigeria as well as the security agents for their patriotic roles during the election.

“I also thank the millions of volunteers, self-appointed overseers, canvassers, agents, escorts and sentries who sacrificed so much of their time and resources to ensure the success of these elections. I do not have the words adequate to thank them.

“Although Saturday’s elections were relatively peaceful, troublemakers in a handful of states attempted to disrupt an otherwise orderly process. Security agencies will bring to justice all those arrested in the process.

“I am very sad at the grievous loss of lives during these elections. Security agencies will step up their efforts to protect voters in the forthcoming state elections,” he said.

Nevertheless, he appealed to his supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. “Victory is enough reward for your efforts,” Buhari said.

The president assured that: “The new administration will intensify its efforts in security, restructuring the economy and fighting corruption. We have laid down the foundation and we are committed to seeing matters to the end. We will strive to strengthen our unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group will feel left behind or left out.”

That notwithstanding, there have been mixed reactions across the country. The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, worldwide in a statement by Daniel Dasimaka, its spokesman, described Buhari’s victory as a testament of the level of acceptance he enjoyed in different parts of the country.

He, however, urged the president to reward the efforts and support he received from the Niger Delta by developing the region in his second term in office.

“This victory affords President Buhari the golden opportunity to write his name in the sand of time in the Niger Delta by completing projects like the East West road, Ogoni Clean up, Brass LNG and Petrochemicals, Brass Fertilizer, Train 7 of the Bonny LNG, Bodo-Bonny Road, stopping of Gas Flaring and the transformation of flared gas to Power, among others,” the statement said.

Nuhu Ribadu, the director, Field Operations of the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation, on his part described the re-election of Buhari as a reward to Nigerians. He told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Wednesday, February 27, in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, that Nigerians had sacrificed their time and energy to vote in a free and fair election and were rewarded with a man committed to selfless service.

By his re-election, he said: “a good and honest man has been re-elected and Nigeria will continue to change for better.”

Apart from the PDP, which claimed that the re-election of Buhari was tainted with irregularities and fraud, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Ogun State,  has also maintained that the ruling APC did not win the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.

Niyi Salako, the state secretary of the party, alleged during a press briefing at the party secretariat in Abeokuta that the APC used “illegal means such as vote-buying and intimidation to win the elections.”

That notwithstanding, the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, an Enugu-based non-governmental Organisation, has appealed to those dissatisfied with the outcome of the presidential election, to follow due process in seeking redress.

The organisation made the call through Olu Omotayo, its president, while reacting to the announcement of Buhari as the winner of the election. Omotayo told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Wednesday, in Enugu, that there were constitutional means of reacting to ‘unfavourable’ election outcomes.

“It will not be in the interest of the country for anyone to foment trouble in Nigeria,” the organisation advised.

That, indeed, is the wish of all Nigerians as they prepare for the state governors and legislative elections slated for Saturday, March 9.

– Feb. 27, 2019 @ 16:15 GMT |