Forget Run-off, Conduct Credible Elections As Atiku Will Win At First Ballot – PDP Tells INEC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to concentrate on conducting a credible election in 2023.

Naija News reports that the INEC commissioner for information, Festus Okoye, had announced that the commission will prepare towards conducting a run-off.

Okoye said the plan for a run-off election (this can happen when there is no clear winner for the first election and when the candidate who has the highest votes fails to meet the conditional requirements on votes spread across states) is in line with the tradition of the commission for all elections.

He said plans are in place to print double the total number of ballot papers required for the election, considering that the commission has 21 days to conduct rerun or run-off elections.

The INEC spokesman stated that not all candidates are going to participate in this second election, stating that only two candidates are going to contest the run-off election.

Reacting in a statement on Saturday, the spokesperson of the PDP campaign council, Kola Ologbondiyan, asked the electoral umpire not to bother about a run-off as the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will win at the first ballot.

He said: “Our campaign counsels INEC not to listen to diversionary narratives by apologists of the deflated All Progressives Congress (APC) who are ostensibly seeking ways to derail the election, having realised that their party has been rejected,” the statement reads.

“The campaign urges INEC to deploy its resources towards conducting a free, fair, transparent and credible election that will be generally accepted by majority of Nigerians.

“Our campaign is confident that by every indices and data available, our candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will win the presidential election of February 25, 20,23 at the first run.

“The APC has seen defeat ahead as Nigerians are quickly reaching a consensus on the fact that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is not electable.”