Why Buhari is not interested in credible elections – Atiku

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also the candidate of the All Progressives Congress is not interested in ensuring free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

The PDP also alleged that the President was planning to extend the service of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, in order to use him to manipulate the presidential elections in favour of the APC.

Atiku said this while speaking through the spokesperson for the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Umar Sani, at a press briefing in Lagos on Sunday.

Also, the PDP’s rejection of the IGP’s tenure extension was stated at the same briefing which had the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in attendance.

Atiku said it was evident that Buhari was not interested in credible elections because of his refusal to sign the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018 despite.

The PDP Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson said, “Elections are usually manipulated at coalition centres and the amendments in the electoral bill has tried to prevent this but the President has refused to sign it.

“When former President Goodluck Jonathan was in office, he was put under pressure to extend the service of the then IGP, MD Abubakar, but he did not succumb.

“We will not accept this now, we won’t accept anything less than what was done then. A precedent has been set, so we won’t accept anything less.”

Sani said Atiku had said he would engage younger persons with brilliant ideas and energy to drive the economy of the nation, adding that an enabling environment would be created for businesses to thrive.

This, he said, would translate to job creation while stressing that Atiku, who was an entrepreneur and a good manager of men and resources would unite the nation and reposition its economy to make life better for the people.

He explained that Atiku would also initiate the process of restructuring of the country which he had been promising in his electioneering, while urging the electorate to discountenance the alleged lie of the ruling party that the PDP candidate said he would restructure the country in six months.

Sani said it was not enough to have integrity, pointing out that Buhari had brought disaster to the economy and other aspects of the nation because he lacked the required competence to govern Nigeria.

Ologbondiyan stated that no administration in Nigeria has been found to be as corrupt as the Buhari administration.

The spokesperson for the opposition party said the President had refused to change members of his cabinet despite the allegations against some of them.

He said, “We reject any extension of service for the IG. We in PDP reject this. We know what the President is planning to do by the extension of service. It is to use the IG to perpetuate his rigging plan.

“ We want to appeal to the IG to insulate Nigeria Police Force from partisan politics. From the body language of Mr President, it is evident that he is not ready for free and fair elections in 2019.”

Ologbondiyan said since it had been discovered that elections were rigged at collation centres, the Independent National Electoral Commission should allow European Union election observers and other credible election monitors to be at INEC situation room.

He alleged that the PDP candidate in Osun State governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, won the poll but a call was made to the APC from the INEC situation room, saying the electoral body was instructed to fabricate a reason to declare the election inconclusive.

He said allowing credible election monitors to be present at the INEC situation rooms would prevent such manipulation to favour any of the political parties in the next year’s elections.

Meanwhile, in a statement made available to journalists, the PDP said Atiku has perfected a blueprint that will eliminate multiple taxation, slash income taxes, and commodity tax rates.

In the statement signed by Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said the blueprint would increase government funding to small and medium enterprises in key sectors of the economy.