BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 General Elections, Atiku Abubakar ha demanded the unconditional release of all those illegally arrested and detained for political reasons before the conduct of the March 9, Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
Atiku, who made the demand when he led other leaders of the PDP to meet with members of the National Peace Committee on Thursday in Abuja also called for the non-deployment of the military in compliance with constitutional provisions and the subsisting judgement of the court.
The issue of Atiku Abubakar and his party’s recourse to legitimate actions to reclaim his alleged stolen mandate was however not discussed at the meeting.
At the meeting which took place at the residence of Atiku in Abuja, were the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, his Vice Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, President of the Senate, Dr. Bukalo Saraki, who is also the DG of PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara and the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, while National Peace Committee was led by its Chairman and former military Head of State, General Abdulasalami Abubakar, John Cardinal Onaiyekan and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah.
Atiku and his team reaffirmed that the presidential election of 23 February was the worst in the history of the country since the return to democracy in 1999.
He said that the sham election was marked by militarization of the process, vote suppression, intimidation, and collaboration of security agencies, INEC and the ruling party to subvert the will of Nigerians.
Atiku restates that as a democrat, he will follow laid down constitutional and democratic procedures to challenge the electoral malfeasance committed by APC in cohort with INEC.
He urges Nigerians to come out en masse and vote in the March 9, gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections for the PDP candidates and stay to defend their votes up to collation point.
