Government alleges plot against democracy

• Timi Frank seeks Atiku’s declaration to avert June 12 debacle
The Federal Government has warned against derailment of the nation’s nascent democracy by those it termed ‘desperate opposition.”

It alleged that some politicians were hell bent on rendering the elections inconclusive and trigger a constitutional crisis for an interim government.

In a statement yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had started laying the groundwork for a “constitutional crisis by unleashing its talking heads, including Buba Galadima, Osita Chidoka and Femi Fani-Kayode, on the public space to claim victory from Saturday’s election, even when INEC was yet to announce the result – an action that amounts to a clear case of impunity.”

He warned that by usurping the role of INEC through the announcement of result, the PDP had violated the Electoral Act and should face very serious consequences.

His words: ‘’By announcing the result and saying they have won the February 23 election, the PDP is deliberately seeking to confuse the polity and lay the foundation for rejecting the outcome if, when INEC eventually announces the result, the party does not win.

“This confirms what we said in a series of pre-election press conferences that the PDP – realising it cannot win a free and fair election – will do everything possible to scuttle the polls, failing which it will proceed to the next stage, which is to discredit the entire electoral process, including the result, with the ultimate aim of precipitating a constitutional crisis and pushing for an interim government.”

Mohammed recalled the earlier alarm raised by government over the main opposition party’s alleged “decision to set up a parallel electoral body, under the tag of Parallel Voting Tabulation (PVT) System as a tool that will determine whether or not it accepts the results of the elections.

‘’We said, then, that while it is standard practice for political parties to have their own monitoring systems during elections, what is not standard is to set up a pseudo electoral commission and imbue it with the power to collate and announce results – as the PDP is now doing under the guise of PVT. Unfortunately, our warning has proven to be prescient.’’

Meanwhile, an ally, Comrade Timi Frank, has demanded immediate declaration of Atiku Abubakar as president-elect.

In a statement, Frank said the call was based on results available to the campaign team of the PDP.

He alleged collusion among the constituted authorities, cautioning that the country should not be made to undergo another June 12 debacle.