30th April, 2023
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in response to the statement made by Lai Mohammed, insisted that its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
The PDP, in a statement issued on Sunday, said the claims by the Minister of Information and Culture that Atiku lost was another in the series of attempts by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led the Federal Executive to bully and blackmail the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The statement by the PDP reads in part;
“Nigerians are invited to note that Lai Mohammed’s comment is coming after President Muhammadu Buhari made a similar subjudice comment in his widely condemned attempt to justify the rigging of the Presidential election, which case is pending before the Tribunal.
“It is indeed appalling that Lai Mohammed could attempt to defend the outcome of a fraudulently conducted election which has been adjudged as the worst in the history of elections in Nigeria and which has attracted nationwide and international outrage against the Buhari administration.
“By stating that President Buhari deserved “accolades” for conducting a globally condemned Presidential election and describing well-meaning Nigerians as “shameless sore losers”, Lai Mohammed has further confirmed the complicity of the Buhari administration, in which he serves as mouthpiece, in one of the most reprehensible election swindles in the history of democracy.
“The PDP is however not surprised that Lai Mohammed will continue in the trajectory of the Buhari-led APC administration which is notorious for lying, deceit and falsehood. Nigerians are aware that by the authentic results obtained from the Polling Units, Atiku Abubakar and not the APC candidate met all the conditions stipulated for the winning of the Presidential election; the reason the compromised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to transmit directly and announce results as obtained from the Polling Units as required by law.
“The PDP for the umpteenth time cautions the APC and the Buhari-led Federal Executive against its furtive attempts to bully the judiciary in the handling of the Presidential election petitions pending before the Tribunal.
The facts of the rigging of the February 25, 2023 Presidential election are well known to Nigerians and the PDP will not relent until it reclaims its mandate at the Tribunal.”
Lai Mohammed had earlier described the opposition attacking President Muhammadu Buhari over his recent comment on the 2023 presidential elections as “shameless sore losers”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture said the president’s analysis of the reasons for the opposition’s loss in the 2023 elections is incontrovertible.
The minister reiterated the position of the president that the opposition in the 2023 presidential election lost in the polls due to their overconfidence, complacency, and bad tactical moves.
“Opposition’s overconfidence going into the election stemmed in part from the blitzkrieg of social media propaganda as well as faulty and procured opinion polls.
“These were apparently meant to hoodwink their foreign backers and a section of the international media into uncritically reporting that they were coasting home to victory when they were indeed heading into the ravine of defeat,” he said.
Mr Mohammed advised the opposition to stop their endless griping over the polls which they lost, adding the president deserves accolades for delivering the best election in Nigeria’s history.
”President Muhammadu Buhari lived up to his billing by delivering a free, fair, and credible election, and his legacy is assured.
“The President would rather lose his state and many of his party’s strongholds than tamper with the fidelity of the election, and that is why he provided a level-playing field for all parties,” he said.
According to Mr. Mohammed, the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, won the presidential election fair and square, clinching the majority of the votes cast.
He added that Mr. Tinubu surpassed the constitutionally stipulated 25 percent of votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.