The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu on Thursday described the action of representatives of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the Labour party, LP who walked out of the collation centre while the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Chairman was announcing scores of candidates in the presidential election as shameful.
Senator Dino Melaye, an agent of the PDP and his Labour Party counterpart walked out of the collation venue after they alleged that INEC has been compromised and the election was rigged in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
But briefing journalists on Thursday at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, the APC National Chairman said their action (LP, PDP) was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the electoral process.
He however advised that those aggrieved by the outcome of the elections should seek redress in court.
He said “I would be remiss if I fail to condemn in the strongest possible terms the shameful conduct of the leadership of PDP and the Labour Party in their unwarranted attempts to sabotage the elections and throw the country into chaos and avoidable crisis. It is a pity that they take their loss so badly. They ought to be good sportsmen and women in the political arena.
“Their protest walk out from the collation centre was childish but clearly a calculated attempt to rubbish the elections and impugn the integrity of the electoral umpire. Their call for the cancellation of the elections over their unproven allegations of electoral fraud must be the height of diabolical desperation.
“All patriotic citizens of this country who value peace and unity of purpose must rise with one voice to condemn these elements who want to parade themselves in the public space as the guardians of our electoral system.
“Aided by some self-appointed guardians of our nation’s conscience, they wanted to turn the victory of our party into ashes in the mouths of all Nigerians and set the country up for global opprobrium. It is condemnable and unpatriotic and unworthy of men who ought to recognise that in a democracy respect for the right of the people to freely choose their leaders through an election is the fundamental pillar of that form of government.
“Nothing in our laws and the constitution gives aggrieved individuals and groups the right to abort the unequivocal choices freely made by the people in their wisdom. Power belongs to the people and the people must be allowed to exercise it in the best way they choose in instituting the government of their choice.
“Our laws provide channels for the redress of electoral grievances. We urge those who feel aggrieved to avail themselves of those channels to seek redress. To set the house on fire in pursuit of a rat is not an act of courage or patriotism. It stands condemnable.
“We are happy to see that the people have seen through their unpatriotic antics and rejected their attempts to set the country on fire. We commend the highly placed and patriotic former public officers who instantly rose up in defence of the conduct of the elections and the election results and condemned the saboteurs. They have once more risen to the challenge of saving our nation from a needless crisis. We salute them. We must learn to be good losers, not bad losers. It is the hallmark of good citizenship”.
Senator Adamu also congratulated the president-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu for his victory at the polls.
“Jagaban is the informed choice of the electorate. He clearly won fair and square. I offer him my very hearty congratulations. Mr President-elect, with your victory, the people have also renewed the tenancy of our political party in Aso Rock. Ours is the party the people can trust.
“As the national chairman of APC, our victory is a humbling but proud experience for me. The people have spoken loud and clear. Their judgement was informed and supreme. The choice they made is the choice they can live with. We salute them. We salute their free and fair decision.
“We accept the victory of our presidential candidate and the party with humility and gratitude to the almighty God and the entire people of this great nation. We, of the National Executive Committee and the national working committee of our great party join millions of our compatriots in congratulating the president-elect and indeed all our members in celebrating the resounding victory of our party at the polls.
“We congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari for the peaceful conduct of the elections. He duly delivered on his promise to provide the enabling level playing field for all the political parties and their candidates. He stood for freedom of choice and action. His legacy of abiding by the rule of law shall be the hallmark of our party’s leadership in our dear country. He has cemented his place in our national history. Thank you, Mr President, for standing by the party and especially its presidential candidate.
“We have all run the good race. The victory has gone to one man, but the race was not run by him alone. He won because we stood by him. He won because we, as members of the party were committed to his victory and the victory of our party at all levels in the general elections.
“He won because the electorate trust him and believe he has the capacity to heal the nation’s wounds and set it along the path of unity and prosperity. The people have trusted their weal and welfare to the able hands of the president-elect and the vice-president-elect”.
