2019 Presidential election: Atiku goes to court

…As PDP petitions UN over role of military in Feb 23 elections
…Indicts Abdusalam’s Peace C’ttee for unnecessary silence
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will today file a suit at the Supreme Court seeking to invalidate the outcome of the February 23 presidential poll.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission last Wednesday declared President Muhammadu Buhari winner of the presidential election.

According to INEC, Buhari was re-elected for a second term, having polled 15,191,847 million votes, winning 19 states to defeat 72 other candidates including the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who polled 11,255,978 million votes.

National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, made party’s decision to approach the Supreme Court known while addressing members before the Expanded Caucus Meeting of the party went into business session on Monday.

He said: “The decision to go to court has been finalised and agreed and the process is on. The lawyers have been assembled. We may be in court today (yesterday) or tomorrow (today). No one can stop us.

“No matter the propaganda of APC, we will seek justice till the last drop of our blood to the highest court of the land. We believe justice will be done and God Almighty will give justice”.

Secondus also indicted some critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project for keeping silent in the face of unbridled irregularities perpetrated in the February 23 Presidential election won by incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

The party expressed disappointment over open sentiments displayed by the leaders after the declaration of Buhari by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) without questioning infractions such as militarisation of election, disenfranchising of millions of voters and violent disruption of polls in some parts of the Southern Nigeria.

Secondus said “they are celebrating criminality. But they need to know that one day the criminality they are supporting and celebrating today, will consume them one day”.

He bemoaned what happened during the Presidential poll, saying “what happened has never happened in the history of the country”.

Secondus specifically quipped the National Peace Committee led by Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar for failing to react to displeasure of several million of Nigerians over the polls.

“The National Peace Committee is keeping quite. What we have in Nigeria now is dictatorship. But one day there will be divine intervention and the nation will be rescued.

“Our leaders should stop being sentimental. Emotions and sentiments will not save this country. What they are doing will rather further nosedive the situation we find ourselves”, he said.

He also warned both President Buhari and INEC to be weary of the side of history they stand today because of the future.

“President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC chairman, you may think that all is well. But history is being recorded. In the nearest future, the truth will be made known. President Buhari, how will history judge you”, he said.

The chairman wondered if election would hold in 2023, arguing that with the military on the side of the APC, the party may not even conduct election but declare winners.

The PDP vowed to report to the United Nation and other global democratic institutions alleged unprofessional role played by the Nigerian military in the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The party noted with concern the role of the military in intimidating and harassing members of the opposition during the polls, alleging that the militarisation of the election was a negation of the constitutional role of the military.

Briefing the press after the Expanded Caucus Meeting of PDP held at the party’s National secretariat in Abuja on Monday, the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Olgbondiyan. said it is an aberration for the military to play partial role in politics.

He said: “Caucus further noted the role of the military in the February 23 election and resolved that we will report the action of the military through a petition to the United Nations as well as other global democratic institutions on the role of our military in the February 23 election”.

“Caucus further raised issues about the harassment, intimidation and cajoling of our members on the plot by the Buhari Presidency as well as APC to intimidate the people’s president, former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the resolve of the PDP to go to court by insisting, blackmailing and saying that he should not go to court”.

He added that the party and its candidate have resolved to seek legal redress on the stolen mandate.

“Caucus commended Nigerians for refusing the harassment, intimidation and militarisation of the electoral process and participating in the election but noted that the mandate that was freely given to our candidate was stolen and as such the party and the candidate jointly resolved to go to the tribunal and reaching the end of what is permissible within our legal system to get back our mandate on behalf of Nigerians”.

Speaking on other topical issues raised at the meeting, Ologbondiyan said: “Caucus also reviewed the situation in Kano State particularly as it concerned the court decision and noted that an appeal had been filed against the judgement and we will continue to study and follow the situation as they arise.

“On the forthcoming governorship election, we decry the militarisation of the South South and the rigging which the APC is plotting ahead of the election. We urge Nigerians to come out en mass and participate in the election and ensure they vote for the candidates of the PDP”.

At the Expanded Caucus Meeting were National Executive Council members, National Working Committee members, Presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Senators Philip Aduda, Dino Melaye’s, Board of Trustees chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, Engr. Buba Galadima, former governor Babangida Aliyu, Senator Ibrahim Mantu and former National Assembly members.

Meanwhile, a support group of the PDP, Better Nigeria Group (BNG) has threatened to sue the party’s presidential candidate Alahji Atiku Abubakar, if he refused to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari’s election.

Addressing newsmen in Abujaon Monday, the spokesman for the group, Mr. Dickson Iroegbu, alleged that the irregularities in the presidential election should not be allowed to stand for the sake of the future generations.

“This brazen impunity should not be allowed to stand unchallenged otherwise amongst other things, our democracy will be dead forever”, he said, adding that the sham of an election which took place and the subsequent declaration leaves so much to wonder about credibility.

The BNG expressed support for Atiku’s resort to approach the court for redress in a bid to claim the mandate overwhelmingly given to him by Nigerians.

Urging Atiku not to backtrack, the group said “it is important that the PDP candidate realises and consistently keeps in his memory that it is not about him but those who have given him the mandate.

“While we understand that he may be under pressure not to approach the court, we want to remind him that anything short of that shall be tantamount to abandonment of the people’s mandate and shall be a huge disappointment”.

Members of BNG who wore black said they were mourning the loss of lives occasioned by the brigandage and violence which characterized the election.