Wada, PDP Condemn Electoral ‘Coup’, Head To Tribunal
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – Distraught candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Musa Wada, has described the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Kogi as a coup against the people of the State.
He has therefore vowed to challenge at the Election Petition Tribunal the results and victory of Governor Yahaya Bello who won on the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s platform.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, Wada said the overwhelming majority of Kogi people have also rejected the conduct and outcome of the election.
The PDP candidate stated that from happenings during the poll; “It is clear to all that there was no election on Saturday, November 16th 2019 but a declaration and execution of war against the people.”
According to him, “What happened in Kogi was an organised war against democracy; coup against the people and seizure of power through brigandage and the barrel of the gun with members of the police and other security agencies coordinating the stealing of people’s votes.
“The police aided armed APC thugs to invade polling units with impunity, shoot and kill voters and carted away ballot boxes to government facilities where results were written in favour of APC and handed over to INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) to announce against the will of the people.”
He further alleged that “Police helicopters were used to attack polling units, fire tear gas on voters and provided cover to APC hoodlums and policemen who brutalised the people of Kogi state and stole their mandate.”
Wada also accused the APC of turning Kogi State into a theatre of war with no fewer than nine innocent Nigerians were killed, adding; “Many more were maimed and injured by the APC in their desperation to seize power at all cost.”
“It is therefore distressing that INEC went ahead with a shameful collation and declaration of fabricated results despite the glaring disruptions that characterised the shambolic exercise”, the PDP flag-bearer said.
Not sparing INEC in his accusations, Wada berated the electoral umpire for allegedly cancelling votes cast for PDP in the party’s strongholds while subtracting from its votes in many other areas and padding the APC’s votes to give a semblance of victory for the ruling party.
Further alleging that the Police and INEC hierarchy compromised themselves in the just-concluded election, he said; “The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, will surely account to God and the people for the roles they played in this election; if not in this world, then certainly in the hereafter.”
Wada expressed regrets that the Kogi people were intimidated, horrified, brutalised and dehumanised during the exercise, noting that following INEC’s declaration of Governor Bello as winner of the poll, there has been lots of hues and cries across the State.
Maintaining the PDP and his Campaign organisation are standing with the Kogi electorate to unequivocally state that “this brigandage and stealing of our mandate cannot stand”, Wada said; “We will never despair but remain strong in our determination to retrieve the mandate freely given to us by the people in their desire for a change. We will pursue this course to its logical conclusion within the confines of the law of this country”.
Urging all Nigerians to stand with the Kogi people in the quest to retrieve their stolen mandate, the PDP candidate lauded the electorate for their resilience in the face of obvious intimidation.
The PDP flag-bearer, who commended the people for demonstrating that nobody can suppress their will at any time, however regretted that innocent citizens lost their precious lives during the exercise.
“Our campaign mourns our compatriots that were killed by the APC; their blood demands for justice and we will ensure that they did not die in vain”, he assured
