THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the declaration of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the winner of Saturday’s presidential election.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, March 3, insisted that that the party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won the election.
The ICIR reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu President-Elect.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, who announced the results in the early hours of Wednesday, February 28, said that the former Lagos State governor polled 8,794,726 votes to win the presidential election.
Reacting to the development, the PDP asked the electoral umpire to immediately withdraws the Certificate of Return issued to Tinubu and cancel the presidential election
The party noted that the request was in line with INEC’s powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022.
According to the main opposition party, by declaring Tinubu as the winner, INEC acted contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and the INEC guidelines and regulations for the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.
The party lamented that the election was marred by deliberate malpractices, including the non-use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC’s refusal/failure to transmit directly the results from polling units to its Server/Website in flagrant violation of Section 60 (4)(b) of the Electoral Act 2022.
PDP noted that the violation of the Electoral Act by INEC, as attested to by political parties, voters, Nigerians of all walks of life as well as local and international observers, paved the way for the alteration, falsification, switching of results and allocation of figures in favour of the APC.
“By refusing therefore to transmit directly the results from the Polling Units, INEC violated the Electoral Act and its Rules and Regulation, compromised the process and marred the integrity and credibility of the election results,” it added.
The opposition party asserted that consequent upon the violation by INEC of Section 60 (4) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and its Rules and Guidelines on the election, the results announced by the INEC, having not been earlier transmitted directly from the polling units before the announcement, are ultra vires, of no consequence and cannot stand.
The party said it has commenced an action for legal redress to reclaim its victory in the 2023 presidential election.
It called on its supporters in Nigeria and across the world to remain calm, resilient, resolute and steadfast in the defence of democracy and the victory of the party.
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