The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has on Saturday inaugurated his legal team to challenge the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 presidential poll.
The team, headed by Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), is expected to ensure the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sacks President Buhari,
It was also gathered that the team is still considering to either ask the tribunal to declare the former Vice President as the winner of the election or order a rerun.
Speaking during the inauguration, Atiku expressed his trust in the fearless men and women of the Bench to do the needful.
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He said, “I have just inaugurated my legal team and charged them with the responsibility of ensuring that our stolen mandate is retrieved.
“I am encouraged by the presence of fearless men and women of the Bench. The judiciary, which had, in the past, discharged itself ably is once again being called upon to deliver judgement on this matter that will be untainted by lucre and ‘uncowed’ by the threat of immoral power.”
He also assured Nigerians that “sooner than later, these noble dispensers of justice will give a judgement that will represent a historic denunciation of electoral fraud and mandate banditry.”
Also speaking, the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, said the legal team would consist of more than 18 lawyers.
Findings revealed that alleged rigging by the APC got a fresh push by analysis done by election experts and academics close to the opposition party.
One of the sources said, “Whosoever cares to analyse the announced results would see a clear pattern of systematic vote allocations based on a careful study of previous national election results.
“But this time round, what the riggers did was to suppress the result figures in the PDP strongholds of the South-East and South-South, but went ahead to maintain the usual wide margins between the PDP and President Buhari. They equally did the same in the Christian North (areas), but allowed a slide margin.
“Seemingly skillfully, they still maintained the high figures in Buhari’s strongholds, and at the same time, retaining the usual wide margins against the PDP.
“All these are done so as to guarantee more votes for Buhari against Atiku. Anyone can see through this clumsy scheme and the solution to it is simple.”
The PDP and Atiku would also ask the tribunal to order a forensic analysis of the ballot papers used for the election.
Meanwhile, the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the party was prepared to meet Atiku at the tribunal.
He said, “It is within his right to go to the court to ventilate his grievances. We are prepared to meet him in court and not shaken by that.
“We have evidence of electoral fraud perpetrated by the PDP, we will be willing to confront them (members) in court.”