The Presidency has stated that the recent meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police was not aimed at rigging governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa in favour of the ruling party.
A statement issued on Sunday by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, faulted the insinuation by the opposition PDP regarding the meeting.
The former ruling party had earlier said the meeting was part of plans by the APC to rig the forthcoming governorship elections in the two states.
In a quick reaction, the presidency denied the claim, saying that it would accept the outcome of the election.
The statement said, “The President called the meeting cited by the PDP to warn in particular the INEC and the Police, to prepare to give the nation a credible election.
“He said he expected nothing short of a free, fair and credible election.
“He said he had suffered election manipulation in 2003, 2007 and 2011 and would not like to have any Nigerian go through that again.
“He also warned against the intimidation of voters in any way and vowed that he was prepared to move with all the forces available to him against anyone who undermines the rights of any citizen.
“The meeting was short and straight to the point. It ended after five minutes.
“Furthermore, he asked the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, if he had anything to say and Osinbajo had added nothing to what the President said,” the statement had quoted Shehu as saying.
The presidential spokesman advised Nigerians to be wary of PDP’s fruitless attempts to destroy the national institutions President Buhari was determined to rebuild.
“They started with the courts, then the EFCC, then to the Police and now they are on the one-week old INEC.
“When will PDP allow our national institutions do their job?” he queried.
