CUPP Wants INEC to Declare Atiku Winner *Alleges Commission under pressure to cancel elections in areas APC lost *Raises the alarm over plot to attack Atiku, PDP situation room

*PDP making outlandish claims to victory, says APC

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) on Sunday  alleged that it is in possession of irrefutable evidence that some All Progressives Congress (APC)  governors in the North-west and North-east geopolitical zones were working assiduously to inflate the number of votes scored by President Muhammadu Buhari in those regions so as to neutralise the lead of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the other four l zones.

The coalition also claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is under serious pressure to cancel elections in areas APC lost.

This came as the APC presidential campaign council alleged that the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was making moves to claim victory at last Saturday's presidential election by publishing fake results.

In a statement issued by CUPP spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, the coalition alleged that that they have almost secured the  collaboration of the Nigerian Army which has allegedly begun to give cover to APC chieftains and compromised electoral officers to hold back the results from the areas and to later attempt to smuggle in the inflated results.

According to him, "Having confirmed from their situation room that the numbers do not add up and that President Buhari also failed to secure the constitutional 25% of the votes cast in each of two thirds of the states of the Federation, the President and his party are mounting pressure on the Enugu State Governor and the State Resident Electoral Commissioner including other South East States to alter some results so as to award at least 25% of the votes to the President."

"It is instructive that President Buhari did not secure the 25% votes in any of the States of the South East. It is also in this same light that the administration is plotting frantically to declare the results of the FCT as inconclusive so as to order a rerun where they will use security and thugs to intimidate the people," CUPP alleged

The opposition parties called on the electoral commission not to cancel any results already declared where no incidents were recorded, adding that the credibility of the election must be maintained and not tarnished because of the undeserved  ambition "of a man who failed woefully in office."

CUPP also revealed that their  presidential situation room had completed the compilation of polling unit result sheets and tabulation of all results and might  be compelled to release these results to the public to allegedly forestall INEC from playing the games the APC is prodding them to play.

"Our candidate won in a vast majority of the almost 120, 000 Polling Units across the country. We wonder how INEC would now cancel results of elections where even agents of the ruling party signed and where they lost.

"The attempt to foist on Nigerians an illegitimate president through inflation of electoral figures have failed. The People have elected a legitimate President in the person of Atiku Abubakar going by the polling units results in our firm custody and we have no fear or doubt about our ability to defend the sacred mandate Nigerian people have given to Atiku Abubakar," CUPP added

In a related development, the coalition

Sunday  alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) was planning to attack Atiku Abubakar and PDP's situation room in Asokoro to destroy polling unit results.

CUPP spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere said the reason for the alleged plot to attack the situation room was because Atiku was coasting to victory in so many polling units.

According to CUPP: "We have confirmed intelligence that DSS is planning to attack PDP situation room near AIT studio Asokoro to destroy polling units results evidence sent in by PDP agents which shows Atiku have won the

election."

CUPP alleged that "the advance DSS team have been dispatched to the AIT studio."

It also claimed that a joint team of military and police officers acting under the instructions of Gov El Rufai and Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai have brutally taken over collation centres in Kaduna and swapping polling unit results won by PDP with fake ones at the collation centres.

CUPP urges all citizens to rush to AIT studio to form human shield and protect the situation room.

"It is too late to change the polling unit results because we have it and Atiku

have won majority of the PU, any tampering will throw Nigeria into

constitutional crisis.

"The Nigerian people have spoken and freely elected Atiku," CUPP added.

Meanwhile, the APC presidential campaign council has alleged that the PDP was making moves to claim victory at last Saturday's presidential election by publishing fake results.

The Director of Strategic Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo,  said it was aware that an emergency meeting of the main opposition party had been summoned for Monday somewhere in Abuja to map out plans on how to issue fake election results and to prepare grounds for protests.

The party accused one of the PDP' campaign spokesmen, Alhaji Buba Galadima of preempting INEC by tipping PDP's presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the winner.

"We call for the immediate arrest of Alhaji Buba Galadima as PDP and Atiku's campaign perfect plans to release fake presidential results ahead of INEC; plans to mobilise hoodlums for choreographed protests," it said.

APC alleged that the PDP has summoned emergency meeting in Abuja to announce its own version of the results of the presidential election.

The APC statement said that "top on the agenda of the PDP's meeting is to activate the last strand of their Dubai strategies that have since collapsed like a pack of cards: they plan to release fake results of the presidential election later today ( Sunday) or early Monday morning that they claim to have compiled themselves.

"Our information is that they aim to create crises and confusion that will lead to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar claiming victory in a day or two from today ahead of the official announcement of the results by INEC.

"Then, what would follow will be some carefully choreographed protests by pockets of hoodlums in some parts of the country. The ultimate aim is to curry the sympathy of our foreign friends and push us to the Venezuela situation," he alleged

APC urged INEC, Nigeria Broadcasting Commission and all law-enforcement agencies "to warn the PDP and all their surrogates like the amorphous CUPP and their likes that anyone who flouts the law on announcement of official results will be made to face the law".

APC campaign council further said that some PDP social media agents are already flying some kites on-line as to the number of states allegedly won by PDP.

It said that Galadima, had made a short video announcing PDP as the winner of the Presidential Election, adding that as an official spokesperson, he was clearly acting on behalf of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

"We, therefore call for the immediate arrest, interrogation and prosecution of Alhaji Buba Galadima in this regard. The world is watching  and waiting on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to say something on the video by Alhaji Buba Galadima.

"Consequently, we urge all well-meaning Nigerians, the international community and even reasonable members of the opposition not to be bought by these cheap antics of the PDP.

" Let's restrain our wards from being used by these unscrupulous elements. Nigeria will continue to exist after this election," the statement said.

The APC said that  President Muhammadu Buhari had never taken laws into his hands and declared himself president in the years he lost elections to the PDP under controversial circumstances.

"On those occasions, he also never declared parallel results. He availed himself of constitutional means to address his grievance by approaching the law courts," it said.

In another statement issued by its

National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, the APC said that the PDP claim of victory in the presidential election lacks any factual basis.

It urged the PDP to behave more responsibly instead of trying to commence incite people to needless violence, even as it accused the main opposition party of making outlandish and false claims against the APC.

"What the PDP is trying to do, by claiming without any factual basis that Atiku has won, is to usurp INEC’s constitutional authority. Moreover, PDP’s words are rash eruptions that may incite needless violence and unrest," it said.

APC described the PDP's statement as nothing but a continuation of what it described as the sordid games that the opposition party has mastered.

Noting that it is an unwarranted strike against democracy and the people of Nigeria, the APC said it will wait for the INEC to declare the election results, as it believes that it is the authority to announce election results.