The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday expressed its readiness to challenge the results of the governorship elections in some states where its candidates lost to the All Progressives Congress.
The PDP similarly raised the alarm over what it called “plot by the APC to destabilize it (PDP), using some of its disgruntled members to execute the plot”.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, disclosed these while addressing journalists on Wednesday in Abuja after the regular meeting of the party’s National Working Committee.
Metuh maintained that the PDP would resist the devilish plot of the APC.
In the words of the National Publicity of the PDP: “The NWC has noted some divisive comments and statements by certain elements within the party who are being enticed by extraneous factors and other parties to cause disharmony in our ranks.
“While cautioning against such comments, we urge our members with genuine grievances to direct them through the appropriate channels within our party in line with the provisions of the PDP constitution.
“We are aware that some elements within our Party have been co- opted by the APC to distabilize our party aftermath of the outcome of the results of the 2015 general elections.
While others have defected to the APC, some have been asked to stay behind to be used to execute the plot. But the NWC will not allow this to happen.”
Metuh expressed the firm optimism that the PDP would bounce back with a bang, in no too distance future.
According to him: “We reassure all our members that the NWC has put a machinery in place to re-engineer and refocus our great party in keeping with our collective determination to consolidate our support base in all states of the federation with a view to regaining power at the centre in the next four years since it is obvious that the APC lacks what it takes to effectively lead our dear nation.”
Metuh stressed that the NWC, as part of its efforts to rebuild the party, had summoned emergency meetings for next week with all its elected governors, elected senators, elected members of the House of Representatives and all its candidates in the last general elections.
He added that all the States and Zonal Chairmen of the party have also been directed to furnish the NWC with the comprehensive reports on the last general elections in their respective states and zones to enable the party to carry out general review of events and to take a common stand on the general conduct of the polls.
He disclosed that the NWC at its meeting reviewed certain developments arising from the 2015 general elections and arrived at the following decisions:
“The NWC is determined to firmly resist any attempt whatsoever to subvert the will of the people or tamper with the process with the aim of denying our candidates their well-deserved victory at the polls.
“We therefore, in the strongest possible terms call on INEC and security forces to ensure that the elections in the affected areas are free, fair and credible and that every effort must be made to resist the intimidations and blackmails of clearly obsessed APC with the aim of manipulating the process in their favour.
“On this note, we charge our members, particularly those in states where elections have been rescheduled or declared inconclusive not to despair but remain focused as the NWC will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them until our deserved victory is achieved.
“Already, we have received reports from Nasarawa state where results from a ward collation center in Karu local government where our senatorial candidate was leading with about 8,000 votes was outrightly cancelled by INEC on the ground that the collation officer was unable to reconcile the figures from the ward.
“Instead of ordering the collation officer to properly reconcile and represent the figures, INEC reversed the 6,000 votes lead by our candidate by hurriedly declaring the APC candidate winner with about 2,000 votes.
“This is in clear violation of the Electoral Act, which does not provide for cancellation of results based on unreconciled figures at the collation level. We are aware of similar cases at the national collation center where the INEC Chairman had ordered the returning officers to properly reconcile and represent figures before the announcement of final results.
“We therefore request the immediate cancellation of the results as declared by INEC. This anomaly abounds in several states and across the nation; in Imo, Plateau, Zamfara, Lagos, Abia and so many other states.”