According to the PDP, Buhari’s remarks were “unfortunate, reckless, unpresidential conduct and subjudice.”
Because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged involvement in the rigging of the 2023 presidential election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the world community to impose a visa restriction on the Nigerian leader and his family.
PDP’s response came a day after a statement from the presidential spokesman Garba Shehu, in which Buhari was cited as claiming that the opposition’s lack of tactical skills was the reason it lost the exercise.
Buhari’s remarks, however, were criticized by the PDP as “unfortunate, reckless, unpresidential conduct and subjudice” in a statement released by Debo Ologunagba, the party’s national publicity secretary, on Friday.
President Buhari and his family should be subject to travel restrictions and visa bans once he leaves office on May 29, 2023, the PDP demanded in a statement. “Having clearly undermined democracy in Nigeria, the PDP calls on the International Community to accordingly impose sanctions,” it said.
“This demand for sanctions is consistent with President Buhari’s request made on February 17, 2022 in Brussels, Belgium, where he urged the European Union (EU) to impose “weighty sanctions” on those involved in “unconstitutional change of governments” as well as those influencing the “process and outcomes of elections.”
The PDP alleged that the Electoral Act of 2022, INEC Regulations and Guidelines, brazen violations of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), alteration of legitimate results from Polling Units, and the announcement of fabricated figures marred the presidential election. The PDP also accused the APC of rigging the election.
Additionally, the opposition party asserted that Atiku Abubakar, its candidate, had won the election; as a result, the party has already appeared before the tribunal in hopes of regaining the mandate.
The comment made by President Buhari in an attempt to defend the rigging of the February 25, 2023, Presidential election by the APC under his watch has shocked, terrified, and outraged Nigerians and the international community.
The PDP claimed that General Buhari’s speech “reveals the utter disregard that he has for our Constitutional democracy, judiciary, and the will of the Nigerian people as expressed at the February 25, 2023, Presidential election.”
The statement continued, “It is, to put it mildly, reprehensible for Mr. President to posture and take pride in the trampling of the Will of Nigerians, blame the opposition for being overconfident and, in his opinion, for not being “tactical,” perhaps enough to thwart the violence, brutality, threats, voter suppression, rigging, and election manipulations by the APC and the government he leads.
It is unacceptable that President Buhari, who pledged to uphold our nation’s laws and made numerous commitments to the international community to ensure free, fair, credible, and transparent elections, is instead supporting election rigging through blatant compromise of the INEC system and widespread alteration, falsification, and switching of election results in favor of his defeated party, the APC.
President Buhari is essentially gloating over INEC’s weakening of democracy by refusing to disclose and transmit results directly from polling places to its server or website, in complete contravention of the specific stipulations of Section 64 Sub-section 4(a)(b) of the Electoral Act of 2022.
More troubling still, President Buhari’s subjudice remarks appear to be an attempt to intimidate, blackmail, and influence the judiciary and the resolution of the petition currently before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in order to enable his Party, the APC, and its candidate to ‘grab, snatch, and run’ with the people’s mandate.
“The PDP in crystal clear terms informs President Buhari and his APC that our Party and candidate, Atiku Abubakar, clearly won the February 25, 2023 presidential election as shown by the authentic results from the majority of polling units across the country,”
“Contrary to what President Buhari has said, the PDP did not lose the presidential election, and we are not prepared to give up the mandate freely given to our Party by the populace, despite the intimidation, threats, and manipulation by the APC-led government.
“Based on his numerous commitments and promises, Nigerians had hopes that President Buhari would leave a legacy of free, fair, and credible elections. However, he is instead leaving behind an ignoble, dishonorable, and shameful legacy by facilitating and overseeing the worst election ever held in Nigeria’s history of democracy. President Buhari, you will never have a good time in history!
It is essential to note that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal’s decision-making process, which is taking election-related petitions into account, is a part of the electoral process. By making his subjudice comment, President Buhari blatantly interferes in the election process with the goal of influencing the results and undermining the procedures for changing the administration that are set forth in the constitution.
Additionally, it called for “an open investigation into the roles played by President Buhari in the undermining of Nigerian democracy in the 2019 and 2023 Presidential elections.
“President Buhari needs to be counseled to exercise caution and permit the judicial process to get through without additional unwarranted meddling and intimidation by him.
The PDP is grateful to Nigerians for firmly protecting our democracy at this crucial juncture. No matter what the APC’s plans are, as a Party, we will never waver in our commitment to using the Tribunal to reclaim our presidential mandate.
