The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as mere posturing the
President’s warning to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in
the states where elections were declared inconclusive by INEC not to
expect him to influence the outcome of the supplementary polls.
In
a statement on Sunday, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Garba
Shehu, asked the APC in the affected states to prepare well for the
polls, restating the President’s promise to ensure that the Independent
Electoral Commission (INEC) carry out its duties effectively without
interference.
He stated that some APC members and others from the
opposition were already criticising President Buhari ahead of the
election, but he insisted that President Buhari would not compromise his
integrity.
But in a statement, the National Publicity Secretary
of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said that the President’s pronouncement
was a “fresh subterfuge to divert public attention from APC’s rigging
plots ahead of the supplementary elections”.
He added, “The PDP
alerts Nigerians, especially those in states where the supplementary
elections have been scheduled to hold, to be wary of the antics of the
Buhari Presidency, as it has never been committed to free, fair and
credible election.”
“President Buhari cannot exonerate himself of
the harm inflicted on our polity by the deployment of soldiers in the
2019 general elections, as nobody deploys the military except the
President and Commander-in-Chief.”
While urging the military to
steer clear of the supplementary elections, taking into account the
Presidency’s statement, the PDP also cautioned INEC officials to note
that “Nigerians are not ready to accept any results that do not reflect
the reality of our victory, which is already known to all.”