A loyalist of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate in the February 25 election, Atiku Abubakar, Naja'atu Mohammed, has blamed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for what she called the rigging of the poll in favour of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Naja'atu, who was a director in charge of civil society organisations in the APC Presidential Campaign Council before her defection to Atiku's camp, also chided Buhari for alleged abuse of the rule of law, blatant corruption and other similar vices, which she said were the hallmark of governance in the past eight years.
In a statement she personally signed and made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Naja'atu berated Buhari for the open display of his ballot paper after voting, describing the behaviour as an affront to the nation's secret ballot model of voting.
She said, “The just concluded presidential election has further exposed the inability of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to rule this country fairly and justly; a President that has never shied away from spitting on the laws of the land that have been entrusted to him to serve, and to protect.
“He is the President that has led the most inept and corrupt regime in the history of Nigeria; a President that promised us free and fair elections after putting Nigerians through the most hardship recorded in the history of this country, only for him to fail to deliver on his electoral promises; a President that will openly and brazenly raise his ballot paper before the public to show the world who he has voted for. "By taking such embarrassing actions, the president not only violated the secret ballot system set forth in the election law, but also violated the election law, which requires campaigns to end 48 hours before the election. committed an illegal act.
"These illegal actions by the president are clear instructions from the president to the Independent National Electoral Commission and the security services about which political party to support and manipulate.
"Sadly, this government will be remembered as one that flouted the rule of law and never hesitated to defy court orders.
“With such disregard for the new electoral law, it is clear that INEC as an institution is being compromised, starting with the chairman, and Nigerians cannot trust him to oversee the gubernatorial election, so the chairman should resign immediately."
In response to Naja'atu, APC's director of public relations, Bala Ibrahim, said she was unreliable and that she should not be taken seriously.
He said, "Naja'atu is a member of the Police Service Commission. Recall that after the APC PCC petitioned the PSC, she was removed from the list of regulators overseeing Northeast campaigns for partisanship. Not only was she openly partisan, she was also an influential member of the PDP.
"She earned her status as a member of the PSC because she is a member of the Northwestern APC. If there was any shame and credibility with Naja'atu, she should have resigned from the PSC entirely immediately after resigning from the APC. However, it was lucrative, so she was only interested in abandoning party membership and not in joining a position acquired through the party.
"It does not portray a credible person. You cannot secretly meet your ex-wife after divorcing her. If you go, you have to go all the way. In essence, it is what resignation means.
"Someone with this kind of damaged reputation cannot make pronouncements about the reliability of any institution or individual. This is due to the fact that you cannot enter with filthy hands if you desire equity. Her fingers are filthy. She is unable to discuss anything at this time.