The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, has called on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to uphold the declaration made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he won in 21 States during the February 25 presidential election.
In his final address, jointly filed with the PDP at the Presidential Election Petitions Court on July 20, Atiku, represented by his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, emphasized that INEC’s assertion that he won in 21 States remained undisputed, unretracted, and unchallenged throughout the tribunal proceedings.
Atiku’s legal team pointed out that INEC had explicitly admitted in paragraph 18 of its Reply to the Petition that Atiku won in 21 States, which constitutes an admission that requires no further proof and is also an admission against interest.
The former Vice President further claimed that the results of the presidential election were manipulated through the suppression and inflation of votes, which affected the outcome of the election.
He alleged that the use of the prescribed verification technology was deliberately bypassed nationwide, leading to a flawed result declaration.
Despite INEC’s initial acknowledgment of the 21 States won by Atiku, he expressed concern that the commission later altered the number of states won to 12 due to the non-use of electronic collation.
Atiku, therefore, appealed to the Tribunal to uphold INEC’s original assertion and declare him the winner of the February 25 Presidential Election based on the results from the 21 states where he was declared victorious.
