Abuja, Feb. 27, 2023 – Dele Alake, the Special Adviser (Media and Communication) in the APC Presidential Campaign Council, has called for caution from those making inciting comments on the just concluded presidential election
A press statement by Alake in Abuja on Monday, said the APC had noted with utmost concern those inciting comments and calls to violence by some spokespersons of the opposition, especially those from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“We are particularly concerned and call on the State Security Services and the Nigeria Police Force to immediately restrain persons such as Dino Melaye, Dele Momodu and a certain Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis Church from their clear call to violence.
“Melaye’s tweet threatening violence, Momodu going on the TV to announce a purported winner and Enenche’s hate speech from the pulpit violate every law of the land.
“They should not go scot-free,” he said.
Alake said the inciting comments being made by the opposition parties stemmed from fears of losing the presidential election.
“When failure stared them in the face, rather than accept the outcome with dignity like good democrats would, some sore losers began shopping for ways to cut corners or scuttle the process.
“We have seen many doctored results giving false victory to the Labour Party in places where it performed abysmally poor.
“The idea was to give its followers hope and prepare them for a planned street insurrection.
“The PDP has employed almost similar tactics despite secretly admitting defeat.
“They went about with mouthwatering offers looking for willing partners that would help them subvert the will of the people.
“Perhaps having failed to procure officials to help it doctor results, the PDP earlier today rented willing airwaves to make very dangerous statements on the election.
“We also wonder why agents of the party at the Abuja collation centre are pushing insistently for the uploading of the results on INEC portal, when section 60 of the Electoral Act is clear about who has the power to do so at the polling unit.
“The state collation officer has no such power. The INEC chairman, who collates what has been collated from the states also has no such power.
“Is the PDP calling for the upload to enable it hack the system to give it a false victory?
“Unlike what the PDP spokesmen have done, we will not announce ourselves as winners despite having the figures which affirm our anticipated victory,” he said.
Alake said that the APC would, in spite of the inciting statements and comments, abide by the laws by allowing the electoral umpire to do its job.
“A cursory look at the figures from across the states show that our candidate is well placed for victory.
“The results have shown that the Labour Party, as we kept saying, is no threat to our victory.
“The PDP, on the other hand, has also failed in its own permutation making its dream of victory go up in smoke. The PDP’s projection of a landslide win in the North has collapsed.
“For example, the PDP’s celebrated victory in Katsina State was only with a difference of less than 7,000 votes.
“On the other hand, the APC maintains a lead of over 30,000 and 150,000 in nearby Jigawa and Zamfara states, respectively.
“Taken together, we are very upbeat as the numbers do not lie. We call on the opposition to stop the macabre dance of a dying horse and embrace defeat honourably. There can still be honour in defeat.
“We once again call for maturity and restraint. Nigerians have spoken through the ballots and the umpire must be allowed to do its work without harassment or blackmail.
“Security agents should stay on alert and deal with individuals and groups who are planning to foment trouble.
“Election is not a war.
“This is democracy at play,” Alake said. (GBN)
