This is the text of the speech given by Bashorun Dele Momodu, on behalf of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, at the conference on Monday, February 27, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria.
Good morning gentlemen of the press. Nigerians participated in the presidential and National Assembly elections in record numbers on Saturday, February 25. In the name of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, our presidential candidate, and the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council, we would like to express our gratitude to all Nigerians for casting their ballots for the candidates of their choice, regardless of their political affiliation.
Additionally, we want to thank the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security services, and all other paramilitary groups for making sure the election took place in a peaceful environment.
Nigerians are eagerly anticipating the results after casting their ballots. They also anticipate that the results will match what they voted for when they are announced. We as a campaign demand no less.
We have been keeping up with the post-election trend, and we want to correct some false perceptions that the public has been given in order to mislead them.
We are pleased to inform Nigerians that the Peoples Democratic Party continues to lead in the election from last weekend based on already compiled results data.
We are still the only political party in the nation to have attained the required 25 percent of the vote across all 24 states. This crucial constitutional requirement has never been overcome by any other political party.
In fact, we have credible evidence that the All Progressives Congress Party, our main rival in this election, is currently stepping up their efforts to secure a 25 percent performance in both Imo and Ebonyi states.
We are requesting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) exercise necessary caution before declaring results obtained in the presidential election from these two states based on the merits of this intelligence. Our presidential candidate had urged INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu yesterday to direct Collation Officers to upload results from the Polling Units to the INEC server in order to prevent those results from being tampered with by some Governors of the ruling party who were looking to buy votes to make up for their shortfalls.
As of right now, the APC is unable to reach the 25% threshold, and it is demanding that INEC refuse to give in to its demands and desperation to gain an advantage for itself in this regard.
Similarly, we have solid evidence that the APC is currently attempting to gain support from Lagos State voters. The APC is not in the lead in Lagos according to results that have already been compiled, and we have reliable information that they are looking for ways to producing enormous figures for their benefit in the state. The APC is exerting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission to tamper with the Lagos Central Senatorial District election, where the Peoples Democratic Party is clearly leading. We implore the INEC to withstand this pressure. We also compel the electoral commission to closely monitor Lagos State. The APC is abusing EVERY opportunity to defraud in Lagos.
Among other states where result sheets are being changed and uploaded are Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara, where there is extensive ongoing result manipulation. INEC MUST wait until the BVAS machines have been verified before declaring any results. Results are being canceled in areas where the PDP is winning.
We would especially like to thank the PDP supporters for the fantastic work you have done to put our great party on the path to victory in the election and reassure you that the Recover Nigeria project is on track.
We are pleased to inform you, our members, that we are doing incredibly well in the Northwest and Northeast thanks to your outstanding efforts. In the South South and North Central, we are competitive. In this election, no other party has the kind of advantage we do.
We implore all of our esteemed members to ignore the APC’s psychological tricks. From our perspective, there is no plausible way for the APC to win this election. In contrast to the PDP, the APC lacks the spread, and in contrast to the PDP, their numbers don’t add up.
We therefore call on PDP members to be watchful, steadfast, and peaceful.
