"Where will history record INEC? It was a purely civilian exercise, and INEC involved the military as if there was war.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Uche Secondus, the party’s National Chairman, on Tuesday in Abuja stormed the national headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register their displeasure with the outcome of the just concluded presidential election and the involvement of the military "as if there was war."
The protest began from the Presidential Campaign Office (Legacy House) in Maitama, Abuja, and was attended by supporters of the party.
The protesters bore placards with inscriptions such as ‘Give Us Our Mandate’, ‘Buhari Must Go’, ‘We Voted for Atiku’ and ‘Mahmood Give Us Original Result’.
Secondus presented a protest letter to May Agbamuche-Mbu, the National Commissioner, stating that the PDP was exercising its rights within the confines of the law.
He condemned the deployment of the military to the strongholds of the party in the South, adding that the party had submitted a petition to the United Nations and the Commonwealth on the matter.
“We want to state clearly going forward. Is that what is going to happen on the 9th? That you will militarise the entire exercise?” Secondus asked.
He also told the commission of the “rigging and manipulation that took place across the country during the elections”, adding that the party was challenging the declaration of the commission in the court.
His words: "As a matter of fact the whole Niger Delta has been declared a state of emergency and taken over. The governors there don't have power anymore. They cannot call Commissioner of Police. The military has taken over.
"We have come to register our protest with INEC on our displeasure with the conduct of the 2019 general election. We want to also register that as you conduct the affairs of INEC, historians are recording what is going on. Of course, we read what happened in 1960 and 1963 on the election that took place and their key actors. Where will history record INEC? It was a purely civilian exercise, and INEC involved the military as if there was war.”
He accused the security agents of bias and suppressing voters to prevent them from coming out to exercise their franchise.
Agbamuche-Mbu, who received the protest letter on behalf of the commission, assured the party that their grievances and observations would be examined.