The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of replacing electronic servers in its headquarters and state offices.
The party, which has gone to court to challenge the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 election, said INEC is replacing the servers to obliterate the actual presidential election results transmitted from the polling centres.
A statement yesterday by PDP’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the development as “completely reprehensible”, saying it further exposed INEC’s culpability in the alleged manipulation and rigging of the 2019 presidential election.
The statement reads: “The PDP has been well briefed on how INEC’s leadership and officials of the Buhari Presidency became jittery and resorted to the desperate measure, after they realised that the servers have information of Atiku Abubakar’s victory at the election.
“Our party also has details of how INEC leadership and the Presidency agents procured and detailed computer experts to the commission’s offices to switch the servers, mutilate vital information in the system and attempt to erase all trails of transmitted results to the main server.
“Moreover, our party has been informed about how INEC’s leadership, several weeks after the election, used some compromised officials to manipulate voters register in some states by ticking names of individuals who did not participate in the election as having voted. This is to use such to cover the fictitious results it wrote for the APC.
“What INEC and the Buhari Presidency do not understand is that computer software and applications leave traces, signatures as well as footmark. Forensic investigation of the system will reveal the real votes transmitted from the polling centres, which show Atiku Abubakar as the winner of the election.
“The PDP has, therefore, insisted on forensic examination of all relevant documents and equipment used for the presidential election. Our party will continue to be at alert as we stand with Nigerians to reclaim our stolen mandate at the tribunal, and no amount of manipulation by INEC will detract us from this national resolve.”
But Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, described the allegation as baseless and uncalled for. He also urged the party to allow the legal process run its full course.
Oyekanmi said: “The allegation is baseless and uncalled for. The commission has maintained that it will not join issues with the PDP on a petition that the party had already filed in court in respect of the presidential election.
“Rather than issuing statements and addressing news conferences on the same petition, the PDP should allow the legal process run its full course.”
