Atiku Abubakar, has released a statement rejecting the 2019 presidential
result.
According to him, the election was marred by electoral fraud in many
states. He said this is why he has not called President Buhari to
congratulate him.
”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.“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. 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful.
In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their
noses down on the Nigerian people.“Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019
sham election and will be challenging it in court.” the statement in
part reads
Read the full statement below.
“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.“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.“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. (See attached links to
documentary evidences).“The militarization 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.“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.“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.“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. 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful.
In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their
noses down on the Nigerian people.“Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court.
“I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated.
“I hope and pray Nigerians will someday summon the courage to defend
democracy. That is the only way we can move away from being the world
headquarters for extreme poverty.”Signed:
Waziri Atiku Abubakar
27th February 2019
