In the wake of the announcement of the results of the presidential elections that brought Bola Tinubu to the supreme magistracy, his two main competitors announced on Thursday that they were going to take legal action to challenge a vote tainted by irregularities.
Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, both unsuccessful candidates, who came second and third respectively in the February 25 presidential elections won by Bola Tinubu of the ruling party, are planning to take the matter to the appropriate courts to challenge the results. According to them, the election was marred by “massive fraud”.
“The manipulation and fraud that accompanied this election is unprecedented in the history of our nation,” said Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate.
The 76-year-old, who came second with 29% of the vote, also said his lawyers were working on an appeal. Because, he says, “The elections this weekend were neither free nor fair. It was a rape of democracy.
Meanwhile, Bola Tinubu’s other competitor from the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, also announced that he was rejecting the presidential election results announced by the National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“We will explore all legal and peaceful options to get our mandate back. We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians,” Obi said.
Peter Obi, 61, came third with 25% of the vote. During the campaign, he raised hopes among the youth, who are eager for change and tired of the ageing and reputedly corrupt elite that governs them.
According to the Electoral Commission, Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the election with over 8.8 million votes or 36% of the vote while Atiku Abubakar of the PDP got 6.9 million votes and Peter Obi of the LP got 6.1 million votes.
