Two members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Raji Ahmed and Kingsley Olawale, have blasted some good concerned Nigerians for criticising the alleged heavily rigged February 25, 2023, Presidential election that produced the APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the election, arguing that rigging and violence have since been a part of Nigeria’s electoral process which should now be seen as normal,
The Associates of Tinubu made this known in a statement made available to Journalists, on Saturday.
Their reaction came following the pro-Tinubu group/APC supporters solidarity march which held in Abuja, on Tuesday, March 28.
Recall, that the 2023 Presidential election was marred with reported voter incentivisation, fraud, ballot snatching, fatalities and failure to transmit electoral results, among other crimes which the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, under the leadership of its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, failed to acknowledge, despite complaints.
Nonetheless, the APC Chieftains in the Press release, stated that political thuggery, the taking of lives and violence, are part of Nigeria’s electoral traditions, and therefore, asked those who are offended by it to either leave the country or accept the results of the election.
The statement reads in part: “When civil rule returned, there were acts of violence and fatalities. It is important to treat those who lost their lives as casualties. The President-elect needs to concentrate on moving forward; therefore, we must move on rebuilding Nigeria.
‘”A Tribunal was established to consider complaints as well. You should accept the decision and remain at home, if you are unable to confront the Court. We will not stand for pointless demonstrations.
“We also wish to state clearly that it is not by force to stay in the country, if you cannot assist the President-elect and our Leader, Bola Tinubu. It would be better to leave the country, than expressing your grievances by shaming the process and maligning the character of our Candidate. We will not tolerate that.”
More news later…