₦airaland Forum

The 2019 presidential election, in which Muhammadu Buhari was declared winner, has continued to generate tension. The main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has since filed a petition at the election tribunal. But he did not stop there. Mr. Abubakar has embarked on an aggressive global campaign that attempts to paint a grim picture of two presidents-elect. The irony, however, is that the central element of Abubakar’s argument, his purported “server results”, lacks common sense. This begs the question: What is Atiku’s real motive?

The realities begin to unravel when one takes an honest look at the official presidential results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a different result presented by Atiku Abubakar — with special attention to the National Assembly figures.

The breakdown of the official INEC result shows that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, garnered 15,191,847 votes, while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 11,262,978. More significantly, the APC secured a relaxed majority in the legislature with 65 senators and 217 members in the House of Representatives, while PDP gained about 43 senators with 115 house seats. But Atiku disagrees with INEC. He has claimed a different result, purportedly obtained from INEC server, which suggests that he scored 18,356,732 against Buhari’s 16,741,430 votes.

To better situate the conflicting information, it became necessary to explore a state-by-state analysis, since data for the presidential election are collated from the units, the wards, to local governments, and then totaled per state, before final figures are arrived at for the national level.

Consider, for example, Atiku’s stronghold, the East, particularly Enugu, the most dominant PDP state in the country, where all elected office holders, and virtually all local INEC officials, are card-carrying members of the party.

The official Enugu State presidential results indicate that Atiku secured 355,553 against Buhari’s 54,423 votes. These are consistent with the certified figures from the units, wards, and local governments. For instance, the National Assembly results show that the trio of PDP senate candidates: Ike Ekweremadu, Chimaroke Nnamani, and Chuka Utazi prevailed with winning votes of 86,088; 128,843; and 146,458; respectively. And these PDP stalwarts are on record to have affirmed the credibility of the exercise in their respective constituencies. Yet, Atiku would claim that some INEC server somehow allocated him a whopping 698,119 votes, while also handing 267,821 to Buhari for the 2019 presidential exercise in the same Enugu State.

Let us travel North-East, Atiku’s home zone and examine the numbers in Gombe State, where the incumbent governor is also member of his party. By the official INEC figures, Buhari won with 402,961 to defeat Abubakar, who scored 138,484 votes. These official results technically tally with those of the units, the wards and, of course, the National Assembly elections. This explains how the Senate results in the state show Amos Bulus (APC) polling 80,549 to defeat Hajiya Binta Bello (PDP), the current deputy minority whip in the House of Representatives, who received 63,312 votes. Senator Danjuma Goje (APC) followed with 110,116 over c (PDP), the incumbent speaker of the State Assembly, who scored 39,760 votes; while Saidu Alkali (APC) won with 152,546 votes to prevail over Ibrahim Dankwambo, a sitting governor and former PDP presidential aspirant in 2019, who scored 88,016 votes. As can be gleaned from above, the losing PDP candidates are no pushovers by any standard. Still, Atiku produced a server result that gave him 684,077 votes over 115,225 for Buhari.

In short, similar flaws exist in all the states where Atiku’s server results claimed either vote inflation or suppression. The former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, another 2019 PDP presidential hopeful, who is a major supporter of Atiku, provided an innocent post-election statement that shares more light on the relationship between the 2019 presidential and the National Assembly results, and Buhari’s performance.

In Bafarawa’s words, it is only “outsiders that think that what happened during the election was magic. It was not magic. There is no magic in politics. We actually wanted the presidential and National Assembly elections to be held differently, not at the same time or date. The National Assembly elections were successful for the APC because it took advantage of the presidential election; specifically, it rode on the back of President Muhammadu Buhari. I say this because here in the North, there is nothing you can use to convince the people against the Buhari candidature.”

Atiku Abubakar is aware of these realities, as well other glaring flaws in his server results. The former vice president is also cognisant of his long-standing poor electoral prospects in Nigeria. In short, he neither had a path to victory before the election nor any credible case to upturn the outcome. Thus, the central element of his argument, his server results, are mere alternative facts — deceitful and delusional. The real motive is inordinate selfishness. It is a case of a desperate serial sore loser, who sees 2019 as a last chance. The strategy is to fan the embers of crisis in the land. The apparent goal is to size both local and international support for a false hope.

Yet, President Buhari must tread carefully. His camp has not helped matters, always tendering witless responses that do nothing but swell the uncertainties. The main culprits are Buhari’s lawyers, most of who are Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) but are gradually reducing the acronym to ‘Senior Advocates of Nonsense’. The response that Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, is suddenly an alien from Cameroon is lame. It speaks of naked malfeasance on the part of the Buhari team; and to have allowed the nonsense to fester is a nonfeasance on the part of the president himself.

But the fact remains that Mr. Abubakar is the public provocateur. Make no mistake about it, the 2019 general election had its fair share of flaws, and the constitution guarantees the right to dissent or legal redress. However, any specific redress or case must have a basis in fact — not mere guilty pleasure; and the process must not be antagonistic to national wellbeing. Atiku’s whole approach is fundamentally deceitful, divisive, and insensitive. It does not embody Nigerian patriotism. The toll on the wobbling economy is certain. The ultimate victims are the poor masses.

– SKC Ogbonnia is the author of the Effective Leadership Formula.


https://www.today.ng/opinion/atiku-abubakars-real-motive-alternative-facts-217087/amp?__twitter_impression=true

Lalasticlala Mynd44

The funny thing is INEC isn't even saying the way forward. Your actions and punishment should be backed by the law, so take him to court.

janetdaniels201:
ATIKU’s SERVER GAMBIT

by Faith Edet Bassey, a legal practitioner



I really wonder for how long we have to deal with dishonest leaders. Leaders who lie without remorse, who cheat the people, deceive the people and relentlessly play on their intelligence.



When Alhaji Abubakar Atiku started yelling that he had been cheated on the Monday following the Presidential elections, I thought, well, perhaps he must have a point. Then he said the results he was getting from the field showed he was ahead while the results being announced on TV and radio by the returning officers showed that he was losing by an ever increasing gap as the results came in.



Then he said he was going to prove that the elections were rigged by showing that the INEC server( not Website, which is accessible to all) contained results showing he won the elections by 1.6million votes. As to how these results got to the INEC server, he offered that the Smart Card Readers transferred the results from the polling units electronically to the server.

Atiku is clearly playing games with our intelligence. His ploy is simple. Tell a lie, make it as confusing as possible, a lie around technology always works best .

But this is so irritating because it is so obviously a lie.



In the petition before the tribunal, he says that the results on the INEC server showed that in Lagos State he had 1.1 million votes! and Buhari had 1.3 million votes. I voted in Lagos, the entire Nigerian Press and all the social media operate in Lagos. Minute by minute they posted the results on line. The total votes by all the media for both Buhari, Atiku and all other candidates was 1.05 million votes. It seems only Atiku had a record of this fantastic result!







The same Atiku argues in his petition that Card readers were not used in many States. Yet his ‘server results’ show results from every State except Rivers State. In every State there is a total number of accredited voters and scores for both Buhari and himself. How were the results electronically transmitted in States where Card Readers were allegedly not used?



It is incredible that a man who wants to lead this nation sees nothing wrong in barefaced deceit and astonishing lies.



This is just so insulting!Why do we have these sorts of characters inflicted on us?

Atiku is a thief QED!

Some pained Nigerians would rather believe Yari than CBN. They those set of people that believe and rejoice over bad news than good news. You know them.

Once Nigerians take up this case, Mr Gerarahere is finished. He will lose contracts and probably return to square one.

No to domestic violence!

Na like this Atiku take sneak enter Nigeria ooo

buharitill2023:
so you hate peace,?
no wonder idiotic pigs are terrorist

Don't blame them, that's how far their brain can processed it.

I don't even bother myself on false news any cos I am well certain of its source. Na Dubai things

The last I heard some baby men crying about a server that doesn't not even exist, and you think Nigerians take them serious? Yinmu! Me no even send them again as their cry dey sweet me.

Maga, in Cameroon abi?

You expect to hit front page with this your READ MORE thing? I hear you

Didirin

I bet you Goje can't dare!

Na Tinubu matter go kill all of una

nagastat:
This is logical.

Bless you my brother.


OP, you are not senseless. I must say it's partial for you to have amassed the senses of some people that we are hoping they would at least make use of their head here, but no, you can see how dumber they've become through their comments.

Some people might be going to jail after they've been decimated at the court just to serve as deterrent for others.

INEC is now aware that its planned electronic voting might not be possible if you still have the corrupt take power at all cost PDP around. Even USA is now planning on going back to manual voting because of people like Atiku.

They lost this already.

Cry me a river

BBC Yoruba: Aye Atiku ta pau bi ibon

PaChukwudi44:
Tinubu newspaper is jittery.Gbajabiamilla will never be speaker

How far for Onnoghen na?

kaen1317:
Which means that Saraki really peppered them that they can't afford to eat the same kind of pepper for 4 more years

Yes oooo! He should go and be bathing with the pepper now in Yaounde with his lord.

I have said it times without number; if you allow the chestbeaters to push and use you against the wishes of the party, the consequences will be grave.

The legislative arm isn't a rubber stamp, but we all saw how the Sarathief-Doomgara led NASS was a clog in the wheel of the progress of this government. We won't accept that shiiiiit this time.

Be used and be dealt with.

If Lawan thinks his lobbying the PDP senators would yield anything good then he's a dunce. PDP will give block vote on that day to who they want against the wish of APC. Best bet for APC is to deal with anybody that declared now before that day and also make sure the open ballot system of voting is adopted on that day.

This one is back from his sabbatical leave to continue his crying

Edodefender:
So he's a Muslim? You people really want Muslims to head presidency, senate and now rep?

Even chief judge, court of appeal are Muslims too

This is exactly what you people are good at. Always playing the victim and the religion cards. Shameless how Christian leaders openly condemned the APC government without even considering their own the Vice-President. Majority of them openly cursed the President and the government without minding whose ox is gored. And now you all want something, you have to earn it.

It's a big pity!

This guy was so popular in his constituency that he almost dislodged the then House leader or Speaker in 2015. But trust power, he paid for the many sins of his father and was probably denied the mandate cos Lagos never benefitted from his presence in PDP government, rather, he refused to approve various federal road projects ongoing in Lagos as the Minister for works.

I am happy for him now. He's got age on his side.

The houseboy impostor is at it again. Always yearning for attention so he can feed. It's a pity he will remain like this for long cos no one need your adulterated hypocrite advice. You should have given it to your master when you were stealing our money.

Dog!

Worst Governor in the history of mankind, after the Kerosene Governor.

APC will be undoing themselves if they field this guy as their candidate.

Kwara state Governor

GavelSlam:
You want Foreign investments but you don't want:

Indians - They treat workers like slaves

Chinese - Their loans are an indirect way of taking over assets.

Britons - They are extending their imperialist control.

South Africans - They are xenophobic

Americans - They always usher in wars

Saudis - Islamization agenda

Israelis- war mongers


What the heck do you want?

OK! You don't know some people are senseless?

This one will just allow PDP push him inside gutter.
He will be easily contained immediately he declared.

Is this what you do with people private data? Cos you were opportuned to get this probably cos you worked for a party in the past election you think you can sell people's data to the public? This is rubbish

Oshey Chinua Achebe the writer.

Provide us the manual collation and you will have nothing to worry about. You hacked and inputted figures into the server and you think you won? Bara oo!