The Special Assistant to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on Youth and Support Groups, Aliyu Bin Abbas has asked the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to wash his hands off, like Pontius Pilate, the alleged case of rigging during the last presidential election which is pending at the tribunal by telling the truth.
Abbas made the call on Thursday in an open letter he addressed to the INEC Chairman and released on Thursday.
He alleged gross manipulation during the election, claiming that INEC declared fake results.
He slammed INEC for ‘lying’ in a desperate bid to cover and defend its alleged doctoring of the election result.
The letter which was titled: “AN OPEN LETTER TO THE INEC CHAIRMAN, PROF YAKUBU MAHMOUD A REMINDER”, reads: “Sir, I would like to start by reminding you that one singular path to cast into the abyss the democracy of any nation is to aid and abet rigging during elections. It’s a recognized fact that once democracy is undermined, it would take just a little time before it collapses.
“Kindly be reminded that Nigeria’s democracy did not come free of cost. It took the tears, sweat, and the blood of many Nigerians who matched to the streets to protest against the autocratic and tyrannical regimes of the military.
“Many people paid dearly with their lives, while those who escaped death became debilitated for the remainder of their lives. These uncelebrated men and women gave in everything hoping that the next generation would enjoy the dividends of a new Nigeria.
“Sir, you will agree with me that the sustainability of democracy begins with electing qualified candidates who will not undermine the constitution, rubbish the rule of law and separation of power, disobey court orders, and drag down all other institutions of democracy.
“The system can only be sustained if the masses are allowed to decide who lead them devoid of any manipulation.
“The 2019 presidential election organized under your leadership is the WORST in the entire history of the human race to say the least.
“It is the most unfortunate thing that has ever happened to Nigeria. HURIWA described it as ‘a crime which is worse than that of Evans the Kidnapper.’ Chief Femi Falana SAN called it a ‘total mess.’
“The attitude displayed by your commission (INEC) has added credence to the widely held believe that INEC under your leadership has been politicized and will never for any reason be trusted by the good people of Nigeria.
He further told Prof. Mahmood that there is nothing as disgraceful and more irritating than the shameless denial of his commission in respect of the 2019 presidential election results in the INEC server.
“The result in the server (PDP ~ 18,356,732; APC ~ 16,741,430) shows that Atiku Abubakar of the PDP is the true and genuine winner of the 23rd February 2019 presidential election.
“But INEC announcing a concocted and a fraudulent result proves that the commission deliberately worked in cohort with Buhari and the APC to rig out Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
“Kindly note that under your leadership, INEC has made it very clear (in both videos & print) that the commission will electronically transmit result of the February 23rd presidential election across all the polling units in the country into a central server to enhance transparency and credibility of the process.
“Your shameless denial of the existence of this result in the INEC server is an embarrassment to this nation.
“The commission also said that result collated manually must be in synchrony with the electronically collated results for the outcome of the presidential election to be credible and acceptable. However, this, the commission did not follow.
“We are nevertheless happy that many Presiding Officer who carried out the e~collation of the presidential election results are coming out to speak, sharing vital information to Nigerians and are ready to stand as credible witnesses in the case.
“To this end, we want to warn that those (INEC staff) who chose to stand as witness against the electoral daylight robbery aided by the commission you head should not be hounded.
“Their safety and security is in the hands of INEC. Should anything untoward happen to any of them, Nigerians will hold you and the commission responsible.
“We want to also warn that any attempt by the commission to temper with or incinerate any document that will be useful at the tribunal will not be tolerated by Nigerians. INEC under your leadership must know that the whole world is watching to see the end of the daylight robbery carried out by the APC with your tacit support. Enough is enough!” He sounded.
He advised the INEC Chairman to remember that history will not be kind to him if he doesn’t retrace his steps.
“In conclusion, Sir, I want you to know that posterity will continue to judge you harshly for the crime you have perpetrated against this country. You will be remembered for the worst election you’ve organized in Nigeria.
“Until death, your sense of right and wrong, if at all you have any, will continue to judge you harshly until you stand on the side of truth at the presidential election petition tribunal.
“You will always be remembered by over 18.3 million Nigerians as a man who subverted due process because of political sentiment and gains. However, Sir,. you still have a chance to make amends.
” Like Pontius Pilate, I’ll strongly advice that you wash off your hands in this case, tell the truth at the tribunal and live at peace with your maker in the next world. You can not deliberately cheat over 18 million Nigerians and think you can escape punishment from your maker. The choice is yours.
“Accept my letter in good faith,” he concluded.
