APC Tells Foreign Observers to Ignore PDP Claims

The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council has asked the foreign observer groups monitoring the conduct of the general election not to listen to complaints by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly polls.

A statement issued on Monday by the Director, Strategic Communications,
APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, said the antics of the PDP were all designed to put a question mark around INEC and damage the faith of the electorate in the democratic process.
The party said it had become imperative to issue the statement against the backdrop of what it called the dangerous extent to which the main opposition party was taking the machinations to discredit and destabilise the process that would lead to a logical completion of the February 23, 2019 elections by way of announcement of results in line with the established procedure in the Electoral Law.

"We urge our international friends, observers and patriotic Nigerians not to be deceived. Very early in the build-up to the elections, the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate embarked on a cynical plan to discredit INEC as a back-up plan in the likely event of them losing the election," it said.

APC said from reports it received in its Situation Room, it is safe to conclude that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has done a good job despite the challenges and the delays experienced in some cases.
"With over 84 million Permanent Voters Cards (71 m collected), mobilising the citizenry to exercise their democratic right to vote has been a massive undertaking but, thankfully, it was conducted largely peacefully and on schedule. 

"We wish to acknowledge and thank all the regional, continental and global observer groups that have acknowledged the peaceful, transparent process in their various preliminary reports issued earlier today. 

"Against this backdrop, the plethora of unconstitutional acts by the main opposition (PDP) and its sympathizers like urging a premature declaration of its candidate as winner and filling the social media space with fake results transcend all boundaries of descent conduct," it said.
The APC campaign council said the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar were making unsubstantiated and wild claims in an attempt to damage the faith of the electorate in the democratic process.
This is an assault on our democracy;  it is an affront to millions of Nigerians who trooped out to exercise their civic duty by voting in the elections. The PDP  is, in essence and most unfortunately,  saying that if they don’t win fairly then they are willing to tear down the walls to get their way by hook or by crook," the APC said.