AYODELE AJANI
President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of the 2019 presidential election with 15,191,847 votes, giving him another term of four years.His main challenger and the candidate of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar scored 11,262,978 votes in the polls which had 71 other candidates on the ballot.The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu, this morning, declared President Buhari as the winner of the election having scored the highest number of votes.Announcing the results early Wednesday, INEC National Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who was the national returning officer for the presidential election, put the number of valid votes at 29, 364, 209.He said Buhari and his running mate Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be issued certificate of return today at 2pm at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja.An agent of the PDP Osita Chidoka had earlier called for suspension of the process, pending the consideration of the party’s petition. The chairman however proceeded saying all the issues raised will be responded to at the apprpriate time.Buhari won a total of 19 states, while Atiku emerged victorious in 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.The states won by Buhari are: Ekiti, Osun, Kwara, Nasarawa, Kogi, Gombe, Yobe, Niger, Jigawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Katsina, Borno, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara.On the other hand, Atiku won Ondo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Oyo , Adamawa, Edo, Benue, Imo, Plateau, Taraba, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory.In his acceptance speech, President Muhammadu Buhari said he will intensify his efforts in security, restructuring the economy and the fight against corruption.He also expressed his sadness at the grievous loss of lives that accompanied the election.
He said : “Although Saturday’s elections were relatively peaceful, troublemakers in a handful of states attempted to disrupt an otherwise orderly process. Security agencies will bring to justice all those arrested in the process.
“I am very sad at the grievous loss of lives during these elections. Security agencies will step up their efforts to protect voters in the forthcoming State elections.
“I would like to commend our security agencies, as severely overstretched as they are, for handling the difficult task of securing the country during the election period.
“I will like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts.
“We give thanks also to our Domestic and International observers for contributing to the success of our elections and for their interest in our country and our developing democracy.
“The new Administration will intensify its efforts in Security, Restructuring the Economy and Fighting Corruption. We have laid down the foundation and we are committed to seeing matters to the end. We will strive to strengthen our unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group will feel left behind or left out.”
Atiku Abubakar’s reacts …
Few hours after INEC declared the final result of the Presidential election held last Saturday, former Vice President and Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party,PDP,Alhaji Atiku Abubakar issued a statement he personally signed entitled;”Democracy Will Not Be Emasculated in Nigeria’, the defeated Presidential candidate said;”I thank the Nigerian people who trooped out in their millions to perform their civic duty this past Saturday. The patriotism of Nigerians is heartwarming and affirms my oft-repeated statement that we are brothers and sisters born from the womb of one mother Nigeria. “With regards to the Presidential elections that took place on February 23, 2019, it is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced. “One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states. The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015? “Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations.
“The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship. In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect. This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future. “I am a democrat and there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world. Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days. “If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South. “However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people. “Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court. “I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated. “I hope and pray Nigerians will someday summon the courage to defend democracy. That is the only way we can move away from being the world headquarters for extreme poverty. Signed:Waziri Atiku Abubakar27th February 2019
