The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has characterized the former president Olusegun Obasanjo's claim of fraud in the country's presidential election last Saturday as an effort to incite a military coup.
On Monday, the former president claimed that the election results had been rigged. He also requested the involvement of President Muhammadu Buhari.A spokesperson for the campaign council, Dele Alake, responded to the former president's assertions by saying that Mr. Obasanjo is not a disinterested candidate.
He also denied the assertions of the former president, claiming that he lacked supporting documentation.He said, "Our attention has been drawn to a press statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which he was essentially calling for a termination of the ongoing electoral process and a cancellation of elections that had already been held on the basis of frivolous, unfounded, and baseless allegations by politicians who are sore losers and have no respect for democratic values."No true democrat must seek the termination of the electoral process simply because he feels the results are not in his favor. In his sinister stat"Obasanjo repeated rumors he had heard that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System had been compromised and that the election results being announced are false without the slightest shred of evidence.
It is unfortunate that a former president, who should have the demeanor and words of a statesman, willfully attempt to undermine and sabotage our democratic process out of pure malice and egotism. He makes ludicrous and ridiculous claims about INEC and the validity of the current process, but he provides not a single serious piece of proof to support them.Obasanjo implicitly advocates a coup against democracy and the constitution."Of course, we are all aware that Obasanjo is not a party that is neutral and uninterested in this race. He had sent a typically long letter to Nigerians on January 1, 2023, backing Mr. Peter Obi's candidacy and urging the country's youth to cast their votes in record numbers for him. Naturally, our response was that the former President was free to hold his opinion and that the results of the elections would show whether or not he was a viable candidate. As fate would have it, Peter Obi lost in Abeokuta, Ogun State, even in Obasanjo's own voting district.Yet it is now clear that the only election Obasanjo will accept as legitimate, free, and fair is one that declares Obi the victor, which is absurd.
Additionally, Mr. Alake commended President Buhari for defending democratic values and urged him to resist Mr. Obasanjo's efforts to seduce him into "tarnishing his democratic credentials in this area." Recall that President Joseph Biden lauded Buhari's dedication to democratic norms and principles during his most recent visit to the United States. There is no such record for Obasanjo to be praised. The dishonest and undemocratic attempt by him to pursue a third term agenda in contravention of the law and spirit of the Nigerian constitution has not gone unnoticed by the world. Alake statedHe, however, appealed to Nigerians to reject Mr Obasanjo’s claims and advice on the election.
“The constitution has stipulated processes for seeking redress against electoral malpractices in the past and these have been tested several times and used to redress electoral injustice where such has been proven. Nigerians must reject Obasanjo’s dubious and hypocritical advice and stay strictly and firmly on the path of constitutionalism and democratic due process.”