In a show of displeasure over the results of the presidential election, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters have gathered at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
The protest was led by the party’s leadership, which included Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, National Chairman of the Party, Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Sokoto State Governor, Tambuwal, Senators and House of Representative members from the party, among others.
Protesters marched from Legacy House to INEC headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, carrying banners and placards with messages such as “INEC is an enemy of Nigeria democracy,” “Save our democracy from INEC,” “Nigerians have lost faith in INEC,” “We stand for justice,” and many more.
Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), received 8,794,726 votes and was declared President-Elect by INEC at 4 a.m. Wednesday.
The former Lagos State governor won in 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states and received significant votes in several others to claim the most votes — 8,794,726, nearly two million more than his closest rival, Atiku of the PDP.
Atiku, 76, who has now run for president six times, received 6,984,520 votes, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who in less than a year galvanised young voters in an unprecedented manner, received 6,101,533.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had asked its members to join a protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja over the presidential election results on Monday.
The protest is said to be about the conduct of the presidential election and the electoral umpire’s proclamation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the winner.
According to a notice issued by the PDP Presidential Campaign Council’s Director of Administration, Ibrahim Bashir, the demonstration would begin at 10 a.m. at the Legacy House in the Maitama area.
Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, who later came out, received the Petition from the party.