•Report by Kamil Opeyemi
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to as a matter of urgency begins the uploading of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly election results from the polling units to the INEC server.
The former vice-president called on the Chairman of the Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu to instruct the collation officers nationwide to begin the exercise.
According to him, the appeal had become imperative in order to thwart the alleged plan of some governors who wants to compromise the collation of the results at the local government level.
“It will be a disservice to Nigerians and a negation to democracy for anyone to subvert the will of the people as freely expressed in their votes of yesterday,” Atiku said this in a statement released by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday in Abuja.
The PDP presidential candidate further called no Nigerians to remain calm but vigilant in ensuring that anti-democratic elements who are masquerading as progressives do not steal their mandate.
“In what is already turning out to be a nail-biting race in the 2023 Nigerian presidential elections, early results from polling units and exit polls indicate that Atiku Abubakar is projected to become the first candidate to meet the mandatory 25% requirement of votes cast in at least 24 states.
“According to the latest projections, Atiku is also set to exceed expectations in at least 10 states, where he is projected to garner over 40% of the votes cast.
“Meanwhile, the PDP presidential candidate has expressed gratitude to the Nigerian people for their support so far and pledged to continue to work hard to earn their trust and confidence.
“We are humbled and honoured by the early projections, which indicate that the Nigerian people have seen in Atiku Abubakar the kind of leader that they want to lead them into a brighter future.”
He further maintained that while it is still too early to know in advance the final outcome of the election, his early success has undoubtedly put him in a strong position as the race enters its final stages.
“From the current figures that are available, Atiku is winning in many states in the 6 geo-political zones. We urge our members and party agents to remain steadfast and watchful,” he added