The President Muhammadu Buhari administration on Monday said, that the APC had already spoken for President Buhari in reaction to the threat by Atiku to challenge the results of the February 23 presidential poll in court.
The party had said on Thursday last week that it was ready for Abubakar and would meet him in court to defend the results of the poll.
The Presidency implied on Monday that the APC’s position was the same as Buhari’s.
Responding to enquiries by Punch on Monday, as to whether Buhari was worried or ready to defend his victory, the Presidency stated, “The party (APC) has spoken for all of us.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, sent the response to The PUNCH through an electronic mail.
The National Chairman of the APC, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, had while reacting to Abubakar’s threat, said the APC was ready for him.
Oshiomhole insisted that Buhari defeated Abubakar clearly, adding that INEC could not have acted otherwise by declaring the President the winner of the poll.
He also claimed that Buhari was rigged out in some parts of the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones where he (President) ought to have won higher votes than were declared for him.
Speaking specifically on the court threat, Oshiomhole said, “We are looking forward to meeting him (Atiku) in court. We will also have the opportunity of filing cross-petitions because in Adamawa State, he had already lost the election before he did some magic that gave him that narrow victory and in many other parts of the country.”
In the results of the poll declared by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, the President polled 15,191,847 votes to beat Abubakar, who got 11,262,978 ballots.
But, in his reaction to the results, the former Vice-President had rejected the outcome of the election on the grounds that it was marred by irregularities, especially large-scale rigging.
“If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South.
“However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The 2007 poll was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people.
“Consequently, I hereby reject the results of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court,” Abubakar had stated.
Only on Saturday, he set up his legal team headed by Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), to proceed to file a case before the election petitions tribunal.
But Oshiomhole had maintained that the election was an expression of the will of the people, which Abubakar could only wish to upturn.
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