Surrender your stolen mandate, PDP replies APC on INEC server

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign organisation of sub-judice over the accusation that it hacked the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) server.

The party said the accusation shows the APC is jittery of losing at the presidential election tribunal, asking it to “surrender the stolen mandate” to its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.

The PDP had claimed figures from INEC website showed Atiku defeated Buhari – who was declared winner – in the presidential election.

But the APC campaign organisation in response, accused the party of hacking the commission’s website and asked security agencies to investigate them.

In a statement, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP spokesman, said such allegation shows the APC and Buhari lack facts to defend themselves in court.

He asked the president and the ruling party to stop their “unnecessary fabrications and smear campaign” and prepare to face the party’s legal team at the tribunal.

“The PDP states that the facts and issues touching on the INEC server are already within the public domain and Nigerians are already at home with them,” Ologbondiyan said in the statement.

“By resorting to shadow-boxing outside the tribunal, President Buhari and the APC have shown that they have no defence to present to the court against PDP’s submission that they stole our mandate.

“It is even more appalling that Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a member of Buhari’s legal team, who should know better, would engage in this act of sub judice designed to distort facts already known to Nigerians, that our Presidential Candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, clearly won the February 23 Presidential election.

“Since it has become clear that President Buhari has no defence to present to the court, we counsel him to save the nation further stress by surrendering our mandate, which was freely given by majority of Nigerians to Atiku Abubakar.”