In response to allegations of manipulation of the results of the presidential election held on February 25, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the resignation, detention, and investigation of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).
Former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was defeated by Bola Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress in a close race (APC). Atiku received 6,984,520 votes, placing him in second place, while Tinubu received 8,794,726 votes, winning 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states and garnering considerable support in additional states.
With less than a year to prepare, Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, galvanized youthful people in a way that some have dubbed unprecedented, winning the election with 6,101,533.
Both Atiku and Obi have declared their rejection of the election’s results and their intention to take it to court.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mister Debo Ologunagba, said that the election results were tampered with during a news conference on Friday in Abuja because the commission consciously refused to deliver polling unit results as required by the Election Act.
He insisted that the removal of the INEC Chairman will be the first step in restoring public trust in the electoral body.
Ologunagba also requested that an inquiry into the INEC Chairman be opened by the Department of State Services (DSS), Usman Alkali Baba, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
