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  • PDP, Atiku to tribunal: Buhari lied about academic credentials

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, have accused President Muhammadu Buhari of making false claims about his academic qualifications.

    The party and its candidate argued that the President’s claim, in his response to the petition they filed at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), that he (Buhari) was more qualified than Atiku, was also a false assertion.

    They noted that unlike Atiku, the President failed to exhibit his credentials, which he claimed to possess.

    The PDP and Atiku raised the issues in their reply to President Buhari’s response.

    They are at the PEPT to challenge the outcome of the last presidential election, which President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), won.

    In the reply filed on April 15 by their lawyers, led by Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), the PDP and Atiku argued that, having failed to attach the credentials to the Form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it could be concluded that the President lied that his certificates were with the Army.

    The duo challenged him to, as the incumbent President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to direct the Army, where he once served, to make his credentials public.

    They added: “In further response to Paragraph 381(iv) of the second respondent’s reply, aver that the petitioners have no knowledge of any certificates or alleged qualifications issued to the second respondent (Buhari), but contend that second respondent falsely represented that his certificates are in the custody of the Nigerian Army when the second respondent, by his own admission, is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

    “In further response to Paragraph 381(iv) of the second respondent’s reply, the petitioners aver that the second respondent as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria could easily order the Army Secretary to produce the certificates allegedly submitted, if they actually exist.

    “Contrary to Paragraph 381 (i-iv) of the second respondent’s reply, the petitioners aver that the second respondent does not possess the educational qualification he claimed to have in his INEC Form CF001 submitted to the first respondent (INEC), having not been attached as required.

    “In reply to Paragraph 383 of the second respondent’s reply, the petitioners aver that the first petitioner (Atiku) is eminently qualified to contest election for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and had indeed attached evidence of his educational qualifications to his INEC Form CF001 submitted to the first respondent, unlike the seconnd respondent (Buhari) who did not attach evidence of the qualifications he claimed in his INEC Form CF001 because he does not possess them as he falsely claimed.”

    The PDP and Atiku argued that “the purported training and courses” which President Buhari had claimed placed him “head and shoulders” above Atiku in respect to educational qualification to contest the presidential election “did not culminate in the issuance of any certificates he claimed in his INEC Form CF001”.

    They described the President’s claim of being head and shoulders above Atiku, in qualification and experience, as erroneous.

  • Buhari lied about academic credentials – Atiku, PDP tell tribunal

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar have accused President Muhammadu Buhari of making false claims about his academic qualifications.

    The PDP and Atiku argued that Buhari’s claim, in his response to the petition they filed at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), that he (Buhari) was more qualified than Atiku, was also a false assertion.

    They noted that unlike Atiku, Buhari failed to exhibit his credentials, which he claimed to possess.

    The PDP and Atiku raised these issues in their reply to Buhari’s response. They are before the PEPT to challenge the outcome of the last presidential election, which Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), won.

    In the reply filed on April 15 this year, by their team of lawyers, led by Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), the PDP and Atiku argued that, having failed to attach the credentials to the Form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), one could safely conclude that Buhari lied that his certificates were with the Nigerian Army.

    Read also: Buhari, Jonathan, Atiku and who?

    They challenged Buhari to, as the incumbent President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, direct the Nigerian Army, where he once served, to make his credentials public, if indeed, they actually exist.

    The PDP and Atiku added: “In further response to paragraph 381(iv) of the  2nd respondent’s reply, aver that the petitioners have no knowledge of any certificates or alleged qualifications issued to the 2nd respondent (Buhari), but contend that 2nd respondent falsely represented that his certificates are in the custody of the Nigerian Army when the 2nd respondent, by his own admission, is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

    “In further response to Paragraph 381(iv) of the 2nd respondent’s reply, the petitioners aver that the 2nd respondent as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria could easily order the Army Secretary to produce the certificates allegedly submitted if they actually exist.

    “Contrary to paragraph 381(i-iv) of the 2nd respondent’s reply, the petitioners aver that the 2nd respondent does not posses the educational qualification he claimed to have in his INEC Form CF001 submitted to the 1st respondent (INEC) having not been attached as required.

    “In reply to the paragraph 383 of the 2nd respondent’s reply, the petitioners aver that the 1st petitioner (Atiku) is eminently qualified to contest election for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and had indeed attached evidence of his educational qualifications to his INEC Form CF001 submitted to the 1st respondent, unlike the 2nd respondent (Buhari) who did not attach evidence of the qualifications he claimed in his INEC Form CF001 because he does not possess them as he falsely claimed.”

    They argued that “the purported training and courses” which Buhari had claimed placed him “head and shoulders” above Atiku in respect to educational qualification to contest the presidential election, “did not culminate in the issuance of any certificates he claimed in his INEC Form CF001.”

    The PDP and Atiku described Buhari’s claim of being head and shoulders above Atiku, in qualification and experience, as erroneous.

  • BMO to PDP: your claim on N14tr sleaze laughable

    The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) yesterday accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of taking opposition to what it called a ridiculous level with its claim of wasteful expenditure and stolen funds running into N14 trillion under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    In a statement by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju, and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, the group said an unsubstantiated allegation that such an amount was stolen under the President’s watch was baseless.

    BMO noted that the latest act by the opposition could only have come from comic characters, adding: “PDP’s latest claim is just a rehash of what this same party put out in a statement sometime in August, last year, when it demanded an explanation from President Buhari on an alleged N9 trillion contract said to have been awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    “We recall that back then, the Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, urged the party to direct all questions to the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, who made what looked like the original allegation in a letter to the President.

    “Kachikwu had even, as far back as October 2017, clarified that the issue had more to do with governance, not fraud at the NNPC, at a three-day Nigerian content workshop organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Owerri, Imo State.

    “In spite of this, the PDP has continued to raise the claims to tar the integrity of the Buhari administration with the hope that, like mud, it would stick.

    “The claims made in the PDP statement are cock and bull stories, just like the allegation that Keystone Bank shares belonged to President Buhari and his family. Of course, opposition elements were gleefully spreading this as part of their campaign for the presidential election.”

    “The N14 trillion the party claimed was stolen is just slightly higher than N11.5 trillion, Nigeria’s annual total revenue from crude oil sales since June 2015.

    “Even the so-called oil subsidy sleaze was investigated by Federal lawmakers at the instance of Senate President Bukola Saraki, and it was discovered that the NNPC has a revolving fund of $1.05 billion which it used to directly import and distribute fuel.

    “This can never be compared with the massive subsidy fraud that characterised the PDP years and which saw a number of party chieftains benefitting directly or through proxies from a scheme that cost the country trillions of naira and for which some subsidy thieves have been convicted and jailed.

    “PDP’s spokesperson was a senior media aide to the then Senate President David Mark at the height of the multiple investigations into the subsidy scam; he should know better.”

     

    “Also, the so-called NEMA scam is a figment of the imagination of PDP leaders and their media handlers as Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who is the target of this allegations, has since been cleared of any wrongdoing and no fund meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the Northeast is missing.”

     

  • 2019 poll: INEC replacing servers to conceal rigging, says PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of replacing electronic servers in its headquarters and state offices.

    The party, which has gone to court to challenge the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 election, said INEC is replacing the servers to obliterate the actual presidential election results transmitted from the polling centres.

    A statement yesterday by PDP’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the development as “completely reprehensible”, saying it further exposed INEC’s culpability in the alleged manipulation and rigging of the 2019 presidential election.

    The statement reads: “The PDP has been well briefed on how INEC’s leadership and officials of the Buhari Presidency became jittery and resorted to the desperate measure, after they realised that the servers have information of Atiku Abubakar’s victory at the election.

    “Our party also has details of how INEC leadership and the Presidency agents procured and detailed computer experts to the commission’s offices to switch the servers, mutilate vital information in the system and attempt to erase all trails of transmitted results to the main server.

    “Moreover, our party has been informed about how INEC’s leadership, several weeks after the election, used some compromised officials to manipulate voters register in some states by ticking names of individuals who did not participate in the election as having voted. This is to use such to cover the fictitious results it wrote for the APC.

    Read also: Presidency tackles PDP over comment on Buhari’s  London trip

    “What INEC and the Buhari Presidency do not understand is that computer software and applications leave traces, signatures as well as footmark. Forensic investigation of the system will reveal the real votes transmitted from the polling centres, which show Atiku Abubakar as the winner of the election.

    “The PDP has, therefore, insisted on forensic examination of all relevant documents and equipment used for the presidential election. Our party will continue to be at alert as we stand with Nigerians to reclaim our stolen mandate at the tribunal, and no amount of manipulation by INEC will detract us from this national resolve.”

    But Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, described the allegation as baseless and uncalled for. He also urged the party to allow the legal process run its full course.

    Oyekanmi said: “The allegation is baseless and uncalled for. The commission has maintained that it will not join issues with the PDP on a petition that the party had already filed in court in respect of the presidential election.

    “Rather than issuing statements and addressing news conferences on the same petition, the PDP should allow the legal process run its full course.”

     

  • APC, Buhari desperate to remain in power, says PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari of desperation to cling to power at all costs.

    According to the main opposition party, Buhari and his APC desperately want to continue to exploit Nigerians, protect the ruling party’s corrupt leaders, cover their incompetence and conceal the humongous sleaze in the administration.

    In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said this is why APC and “the cabal” at the Presidency resorted to violence, intimidation as well as manipulation and alteration of results at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the presidential election.

    The PDP also accused certain APC chieftains and presidential aides of making desperate efforts to distract the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal and derail the course of justice by making and promoting baseless judicial interpretations and externalising proceedings of the court.

    The statement said: “The President Buhari-led APC administration wants to remain in power to prevent investigation into the N14 trillion allegedly stolen under its watch; including the N9 trillion stolen from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, as detailed in the leaked Nigerian National Petrolum Corporation (NNPC)  memo; the over N1.4 trillion alleged oil subsidy sleaze and the N1.1 trillion worth of crude diverted using 18 unregistered companies linked to APC interests.

    “This is in addition to the N33billion National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) fund, and the over N18 billion stolen out of the N48 billion approved by the National Assembly in the 2017 budget for the rehabilitation of Internally Displaced persons in the Northeast, among others.

    “Furthermore, the Buhari-led APC administration is desperate to avoid an investigation into its unwholesome borrowings that led to the escalation of our nation’s debt stock from N12.12 trillion in 2015 to an overburdening N24.39 trillion in 2018.

    Read also: APC disputes Atiku’s claim on being Nigerian by birth

    “Within a space of three years, this administration has borrowed a total of N12.27 trillion, yet it cannot point to any significant development project into which the money was invested. This includes the N2.66 trillion borrowed in 2018, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    “These and many more are funds meant for infrastructural development and welfare of Nigerians but which have been cornered by APC leaders”

    The opposition party insisted that the Buhari Presidency lacked the competence and integrity to run a creative, transparent and credible administration that can guarantee economic growth, wealth creation and a dependable system.

    “The negative effect is the further dipping of our economy, as investor’s confidence, which shored up at the expressed resolve by Nigerians to elect  Atiku Abubakar as their next President,  slumped with the rigging of the presidential election”, the PDP added.

    The party urged Nigerians not to despair but to continue to be steadfast in the aspiration for the recovery of the “stolen” presidential mandate at the tribunal.

    According to the PDP, that is the only way to return the nation to the path of peace, national unity and a vibrant economy.

  • Fresh cracks in PDP over Lawan, Goje, Ndume

    Differences among incoming federal legislators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over who to support  for Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker in June are not about to abate any moment soon, an investigation has revealed.

    The PDP, according to multiple sources, is mobilizing its members to vote against the official candidates of the APC for the two positions to put the opposition party in a position to influence decision in the legislature.

    One of the options being considered by the PDP is to sponsor the pair of Alhaji Danjuma Goje as Senate President and Chief Ike Ekweremadu as his deputy.

    Some other PDP leaders are suggesting either Sen. Ali Ndume-Ekweremadu mandate or Sen. Abdullahi Adamu-Ekweremadu ticket.

    But several incoming PDP federal lawmakers are not convinced that their party’s plot will sail through.

    Several meetings by  the  legislators-elect convened to resolve the issues have failed  as they could not agree on zoning the minority offices or allowing the current leadership of the party’s caucuses in the national assembly to continue when the 9th assembly commences.

    It was gathered that while the PDP hierarchy favours the retention of the current leadership of the party caucuses in the national assembly, the majority of the legislators-elect are rooting for a new order.

    Another meeting held in Abuja last week to address the issues ended without a concrete agreement on the matters discussed.

    “We are yet to agree on the national assembly leadership questions,” a member at the last meeting said.

    He added: “In fact, a new dimension was introduced into it at the Abuja meeting. A group of senators are now agitating that the minority leadership must be returned to the South-south geo-political zone from where it was taken away following the defection of Senator Godswill Akpabio to the APC.

    “Members-elect from the Southwest are also  asking questions about what will be the place of the zone in the leadership arrangement.

    “I can recall that the issue of how the zone was allegedly schemed out of the race for national chairmanship was revived as part of the many arguments now going on within our party.”

    The PDP may also have jettisoned the idea of making Ekweremadu minority leader in the event that the bid to make return him as deputy senate president fails.

    The party, sources said, was swayed on the matter by the strong opposition of the majority of the legislators elect to the idea.

    “That was suggested but I don’t think it is on the table again. Majority of us are opposed to the idea,” our source said.

    “We still need to agree on a lot of things.

    “I can tell you for example that it is not true that all of us want to work with Senator Danjuma Goje as being reported.

    “Many of us would rather have PDP support someone like Senator Ali Ndume. And this was raised when we met. Those supporting Goje are largely current Senators many of whom are not returning to the national assembly.

    “It is our own opinion that we do not want to be seen as fighting the battles of some ex-Senators when we resume. We want to be seen as our own men.

    “Goje is widely believed to be negotiating with the current leadership of the senate for a deal. That is not the opinion or position of many of us. Ndume represents something fresh and we will prefer that. But unfortunately, the public is being made to believe Goje is our choice.”

    The Nation was also informed of the existence of another group of PDP legislators-elect who are opposed to the idea of a deal with any APC senator against Senator Ahmed Lawan.

    This group, according to party sources, has been impressing it on the leadership of the party that none of the APC senators threatening to oppose Lawan can deliver the needed APC votes to make any alliance work against the ruling party in the 9th assembly.

    A PDP national officer from the Southwest said the lawmakers are more opened to the offers being made towards the opposition legislators by Lawan and Femi Gabjabiamila.

    “They think it is better to strike deals that will see the APC and PDP sharing committee positions in a manner that will enable them work together amicably than working on plots that will further factionalise the national assembly when they resume.”

    “Many of them are openly condemning the hard line stance of the current leadership of the national assembly.”

    “I have heard PDP legislators-elect advice against a national assembly leadership that will be opposed to everything about the executive arm of government. They want an end to the current hostility between the presidency and the national assembly. It may be difficult to get such persons to back the ongoing plot.”

    The Nation however gathered that the leadership of the PDP is determined to ensure that legislators-elect on the platform of the party are united ahead of the inauguration of the 9th assembly. This, according to party sources, is necessary considering the desire of the opposition party to play a role in the emergence of the leadership of the next national assembly.

    “We are talking to our lawmakers-elect. We are optimistic that we will go into the 9th assembly as a united bloc. It is a very important issue to us and we will do everything possible to achieve that unity. Don’t forget that the PDP as a virile opposition party is desirous of influencing the process that will produce the leadership of the 9th assembly,” one of our sources added.

     

  • 9th Senate: PDP plots Goje-Ekweremadu ticket

    The horse-trading for the leadership of the 9th Senate intensified yesterday with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spearheading negotiation with some aspirants from the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the office of the President of the Senate.

    The PDP is plotting a joint ticket by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Sen. Danjuma Goje and the outgoing Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.

    But some leaders of PDP are suggesting either Sen. Ali Ndume-Ekweremadu mandate or Sen. Abdullahi Adamu-Ekweremadu ticket.

    But most PDP senators-elect, especially loyalists of the outgoing Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, have been uncomfortable with any joint ticket with Ndume or Adamu.

    Saraki and influential PDP leaders prefer a deal with Goje, who was once a father-figure in the opposition party before he defected to APC.

    The outcome of the proposed alliance will pit the joint candidate for the Senate against the Senate Leader, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, who has been adopted by President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC.

    Read also: ‘How Lawan can become Senate President’

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the PDP opted for another alliance to hijack the Senate leadership in order to have a high stake in the 9th National Assembly and secure a comfortable slot for the South-East which might be left out of power sharing at the centre by the APC.

    The PDP was said to be interested in a succession plan which will “sustain the current checks and balances against the Buhari administration” as symbol ised by Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara.

    According to findings made by our correspondent, Ekweremadu has been holding marathon meetings with some APC senators-elect, especially those rated as “rebellious and amenable”, in order to get at least 56 simple majority out of 109 to enable the alliance to control the Senate.

    It was learnt that the ongoing talks and negotiations have delayed the declaration of Goje for Senate Presidency. At a caucus meeting of the PDP, its senators and senators-elect, it was resolved that “all the senators-elect should stay together to study the situation until the time for the election of principal officers.”

    Continnue in page 2

  • Anambra APC leaders to APGA, PDP: prepare for ‘war’ in 2021

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State, has called on the All progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to prepare for war in the next governorship election in the state in 2021 The party leaders in a unanimous decision yesterday at the Milatel Hotels in Awka, vowed that what happened in the past during elections in Anambra State, would never  repeat itself again.

    The remark was made during the presidential victory get- together of the party, organized by the Buhari Youth Organisation, led by its coordinator in the state, Hon Olisa Okamelu. All those who spoke at the occasion,  including the former Commissioner for Information, Chief Charles Amilo, South East Youth leader of APC, Hon Olisaemeka Onyeka and party leaders from Imo and Enugu states, spoke in the same vein. The state’s  acting party chairman, Chief Basil Ejidike, said the target of the party is 2021 governorship election, adding that it would be the  time for the  APC to stamp it’s authority in Anambra.

    He apologized to the members for the party not living to its billing during the previous elections, noting that the time to get it right would be in 2021 election in the state. According to Ejidike “it will not be a problem again for us because we have identified some of the problems that held us back in the past.

    “Our coming political summit in May in Anambra will usher in a new dawn. So, the ruling party in the state and others should be ready to face the APC because it’s now or never.” The state Coordinator of BYO, Hon Osita OKamelu, said with the leadership of the party under Ejidike, who he described as a political bulldozer, that APC is as good as winning in 2021 He agreed with other speakers that there was an improvement during the presidential election unlike what happened before now. For Olisaemeka Onyeka, the Southeast Youth leader of the APC, there was need to review the proposed zoning formula in the party. He said “the party should give the Southeast either the Deputy Senate President or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, since the other positions have been shared, adding that the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is just an appointment.

  • Buhari’s incompetence taking a huge toll on the nation- Secondus

    The national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said stated President Muhammadu Buhari’s incompetence in the handling of governance is taking a huge toll on the nation.

    Bemoaning the spate of killings and kidnapping across country, Secondus observed the frightening security situation has continued to raise concerns among prominent Nigerians, including clerics and monarchs.

    Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, the PDP chair said the situation has got to a point where the citizens are raising questions as to whether the country still has a Commander-In-Chief.

    Urging the President to seek quality advice on the security challenges, Secondus said: “While the Presidency continues to argue that there exists government in our country today, what obtains in reality is different.

    “The level of bloodletting occasioned by the barrage of criminalities across the country can only be happening in a country without government.

    “Things got even worse as the remaining goodwill of the people on this government vanished after it arm-twisted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), into tampering with the will of the people in the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

    “There is no evidence of the presence of government in this country as crimes of all kinds are being committed all over the country and Nigerians have never lived in such great fear and trembling for their lives.

    “From Kaduna to Zamfara, Benue to Taraba, Plateau, Lagos to Enugu etc., bloodletting is continuing unabated. Even the President’s home state of Katsina has lost about eight local government areas to bandits, not to talk of the North East.

    “Everyone holding public office must know that one day, they will be held accountable for their actions.”

    Secondus deplored the incessant killings in Kaduna State, where a British humanitarian aid worker, Faye Mooney and others were shot dead by gunmen last week.

    He blamed the heightened insecurity in Kaduna on what he described as “provocative leadership” existing in the state and which he said, is indirectly being encouraged by the Federal Government.

    “The situation has deteriorated to the extent that this country can no longer protect the lives of international aid workers who are here to help us clear our mess.

    “The senseless continuous bloodletting in Kaduna state should be blamed on the type of provocative leadership existing in that state and indirectly encouraged by the federal government.

    “The ‘body bag’ governor in the state does not seem to know how to engender peace among the people, his actions and utterances facilitate, instead of ameliorating the ill feelings among the people,” Secondus said.

    The main opposition party chairman regretted that rather than give teeth to governance and address the pervasive insecurity, the Federal Government has been exerting energies and resources planning nefariously how to undermine democratic institutions.

    Taking a swipe at the President’s leadership style, Secondus said, “After its several attempts to hijack the legislature failed, it turned to the Judiciary ridiculing the revered third arm of the government to the point of removing their confidence.

    “The executive backed humiliation of the head of the Judiciary, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen is a well-designed strategy by the APC administration to intimidate and coerce judicial officers, particularly the Judges and Justices to fall in line and endorse all their undemocratic behaviours that are bound to come to the judiciary for adjudication.

    “My advice to members of the Judiciary, particularly those handling election matters and who are all Nigerians and who are also living in Nigeria is that the country and rule of law should guide all their actions.

    “They should know that providence has placed in their laps the opportunity to make positive history and enshrine justice and fair play in our society, knowing as a fact that no nation grows on injustice and injustice breed crisis”.

  • APC tackles PDP over claim on INEC server

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday cautioned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against celebrating the alleged confirmation of the existence of a central election results transmission server by an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official.

    Relying on the video, which has gone viral, the PDP said claims by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, of the existence and functionality of the server had been vindicated.

    Atiku and the PDP are insisting that the results tendered by their lawyers at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) are the authentic presidential poll figures.

    In the said video, a top INEC official was seen confirming the existence of a central election results transmission server.

    The official also confirmed that the commission would put the central server to use for the presidential election.

    The figures alleged to have been obtained by Atiku from the server have become the main plank of the PDP candidate’s argument before the tribunal.

    In the result announced by IINEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, President Muhammadu Buhari of APC polled 15,191,847 votes to Atiku’s 11,262,978.

    Buhari beat the PDP candidate with a margin of 3,928,869 votes.

    But citing results from the server, Atiku claimed that he defeated Buhari with over 1.6 million votes.

    The electoral umpire has since denied the existence of the server before the tribunal.

    The PDP, through its spokesman, Kola Ologbodiyan, alleged that the trending video has unsettled the Presidency.

    But spokesman for the Buhari Presidential Election Campaign Council Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), dismissed the PDP claim as “pure entertainment”.

    The tribunal, he said, would be guided by the electoral law and not by social media videos, which according to Ologbodiyan “speaks volumes about the reported denial by INEC of the existence of such a server for the 2019 general elections.”

    According to the PDP spokesman, the APC team has been in a frenzy to distract the tribunal by externalising its proceedings.

    He said:  ”This is in addition to the Presidency’s feverish attempt to divert public attention by engaging in judicial interpretations and hurling insults on our party and candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over our determination to retrieve our stolen mandate in court.

    Read also: APC kicks against life pension for Bayelsa lawmakers

    “The lesson for all in the latest episode is in the undying verity that no matter how long falsehood appears to thrive, the truth will always come to light and prevail at the end of the day.

    ”Instead of this pitiable resort to frenetic and chaotic play to the gallery, the PDP counsels President Buhari and his team to focus on facing the course of justice at the tribunal.”

    Cautioning the PDP against rejoicing over unsubstantiated claims on the social media, Keyamo said the tribunal would be guided in its ruling by the electoral law.

    Keyamo described the videos on INEC’s plan to transmit results to the server as mere entertainment.

    He said while INEC might have planned to transmit the results electronically, what matters most is if it actually did.

    The senior advocate tweeted yesterday: “Without referring to any particular pending election petition, there’s need to generally guide Nigerians not to gullibly fall for the fantasy created by any video circulating where INEC official(s) spoke of INEC’s plan to electronically transmit results before the elections.

    “The video(s) of some INEC official(s) expressing intention to electronically transmit results are only circulated for entertainment. That procedure is neither contained in the Electoral Act nor in INEC’s Guidelines. Courts are only guided by these documents and not such videos.

    “Also, what you plan to do may be different from what you actually did. Assuming INEC planned to transmit electronically, the moment it said after the election that it did not do so, the matter ends there especially as the Electoral Act & the Guidelines do not allow it to do so.”

    “Without referring to any particular pending election petition, there’s a need to generally guide Nigerians not to gullibly fall for the fantasy created by any video circulating where INEC official(s) spoke of INEC’s plan to electronically transmit results before the elections.

    “The video(s) of some INEC official(s) expressing intention to electronically transmit results are only circulated for entertainment. That procedure is neither contained in the Electoral Act nor in INEC’s Guidelines. Courts are only guided by these documents and not such videos.”

    Atiku and the PDP have invited 13 presiding officers from Yobe and Borno states to testify before the tribunal. The electoral officials claimed that they uploaded results from the polling units in their states to the server.

    But Keyamo alleged that some people connived with some INEC staff to upload results to the website of the electoral body, adding: “the fact that electronic transmission didn’t happen destroyed their plan”.

    Keyamo said: “According to to him, those who actually planned to steal the people’s mandate are the ones crying foul.

    “In anticipation of the electronic transmission, some crooks concocted fictitious results and perhaps in connivance with certain INEC insiders (or by hacking) tried to upload those results into the server. The fact that electronic transmission didn’t happen destroyed their plan.

    “The irony is that the real cheats are the ones struggling to create a narrative that they were cheated; the real crooks are the ones struggling to convince everyone that the system is crooked; those who actually planned to steal the people’s mandate are the ones crying foul.

    “The noise about electronic transmission of INEC results is akin to a student who wants to cheat in an exam and enters the hall with prepared answers, not noticing that the set questions are not exactly framed as expected. So, when he’s later told he failed, he says it’s impossible!

    “In anticipation of the electronic transmission, some crooks concocted fictitious results and perhaps in connivance with certain INEC insiders (or by hacking) tried to upload those results into the server. The fact that electronic transmission didn’t happen destroyed their plan.”

    INEC had dismissed Atiku’s claims as false, saying the results were fabricated as it never transmitted election results to its server.