Reacting to the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday in Abuja, Abubakar said in a statement that “there were manifest and premeditated” malpractices in many states, which negate the announced outcome.
He said he would seek justice in the democratic way by heading to court and ensure that “democracy will not be emasculated in Nigeria.
He noted that one obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states.
“The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom State, for instance, be 50 percent less than what they were in 2015?
“Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations,” he said.
Abubakar lamented that the militarization of the electoral process was a disservice to the nation’s democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship.
According to him, in some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect.
“This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future,” he said.
He assured that he is a democrat and that “there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world.”
“Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days.
“If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South,” he said.
He recalled that in his democratic struggles for the past three decades, he had never seen “our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday”, February 23, 2019”.
Abubakar noted that 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful and that in 2019, “it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people”.
He therefore rejected the result of “the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court”.
The former Nigerian vice president expressed the hope and pray that Nigerians would someday summon the courage to defend democracy.
“That is the only way we can move away from being the world headquarters for extreme poverty,” he added.
He, however, thanked Nigerians, who trooped out in their millions to perform their civic duty on Saturday, adding that their patriotism was heartwarming.