Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, to instruct the Collation Officers for Saturday’s election to upload the results from the Polling Units to the INEC server immediately.
In a statement by Paul Ibe, his Media Adviser, Atiku said this has become necessary to checkmate some persons who are allegedly trying to compromise the results at the local government collation 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.
He called on Nigerians to be calm but vigilant to ensure that anti-democratic elements who are masquerading as progressives do not steal their mandate.
He said going by what is already turning out to be a “nail-biting race”, the presidential elections early results from polling units and exit polls indicate that he would be the first candidate to meet the mandatory 25% requirement of votes cast in at least 24 states.
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”.
“While it is still too early to predict the final outcome of the elections, Atiku Abubakar’s early success has certainly 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”.