Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, and the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, on Thursday showed video clips of election rigging during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections in the country to members of the National Peace Committee led by a former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.).
It was gathered that Cardinal John Onaiyekan and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah were also present to watch the video.
The meeting, which held at Atiku’s Asokoro residence also had in attendance the PDP vice-presidential candidate, Peter Obi; President of the Senate, who is also the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Bukola Saraki; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had on Wednesday declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu Buhari, the winner. The incumbent president won with 15,191,847 votes as against 11,262,978 polled by Atiku of the PDP.
The former vice-president and his party had rejected the results and said they would seek redress in court.
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During the meeting, Atiku explained to the National Peace Committee how the members of the PDP were allegedly molested and denied the opportunity to cast their votes in many states.
It was also gathered that Abdulsalami and members of his committee were shown video clips of how soldiers allegedly brutalised PDP members in some states and the sacking of some polling units by thugs suspected to be loyal to the ruling party without the security agents who were present taking any action.
A source, who was at the meeting said, “At a point during the meeting, we decided to show video clips of how soldiers helped the APC to rig the elections in some states. We also showed them how security agents looked the other way when thugs invaded polling and coalition centres in some states.
“We asked the retired General whether that was how he used the military to conduct the 1999 elections. But instead of replying, he laughed and laughed. I think he was trying to tell us that he is a different person or something like that.
“We told him how the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, did not pretend during his transition period that he wanted to be the sole candidate of all the five registered political parties then. We now said that President Buhari ought to have told Nigerians that he wanted to be the sole candidate so that we would have known how to address the matter from the outset, instead of using the military to achieve what he could not have achieved by claiming to be the sole candidate.”
Peter Obi was said to have left his home in his state on the eve of the election because of the activities of security men who allegedly terrorised his area.
Atiku, it was learnt, told the NPC members that he was surprised that they did not do anything despite all the issues raised by his party after he joined President Buhari to sign the peace agreement.
According to another source, the former vice president said the country was already divided and that he regretted signing the peace agreement because of the events that unfolded after.
“At a time, the Waziri (Atiku) became emotional. He said he regretted signing the Peace Agreement because members of the committee did not attend to complaints by the PDP after its signing and before the conduct of the elections.”