A frontline politician, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) do not have a candidate for 2019 presidential election. He made this declaration yesterday in an interview in Lagos. Okupe also decried the refusal of President Buhari to sign the Electoral Act that has since been passed by the National Assembly.
He said APC would not win the 2019 election without rigging. Okupe said the only way APC could ensure they win at all cost would be the refusal of President Buhari to win sign the electoral act which was intended to sanitise the electoral process.
“APC is only using their house boy who heads the INEC and his junior staff. Actions and activities of INEC are being dictated directly from the villa. If that is not the case, by now if INEC Chairman was a truly independent person, he ought to have conveyed message to APC and the villa that they do not have a candidate for 2019 presidential election,” he said.
The former presidential spokesman further said, “As of today, the nomination of President Buhari is not valid. To be nominated for an election, there are some conditions that must be met as provided by the constitution and the electoral act. “Number one, you must be a Nigerian. Now, there are issues that were even confirmed by the president himself in Poland that there is doubt about his nationality whether he is a Nigerian or a Sudanese”.
Okupe also added that evidence must be provided that any candidate had been educated to secondary school level.
“As of today, the form submitted by Buhari to INEC does not contain a certificate. What he submitted is an affidavit with a false claim that his certificate is with Secretary of the Army who had sometime issued a statement that they are not in possession of any certificate of the president,” Okupe explained.
According to Okupe, “If I falsely swear to an oath that I am seven feet tall and measurement shows by I am not that tall, I have simply committed perjury”.
Okupe added that it was even written in forms filled by candidates that perjury is a valid ground for disqualification.
He was categorical that as of today, the nomination of Mohammadu Buhari with INEC remains a subject of outright disqualificationHe said, “Chairman of INEC as far as I am concerned is useless and cannot be relied upon due to his failure to have informed APC that its candidate has not been validly nominated and therefore request for another that another candidate be nominated”.
He further said that such an invalidly nominated candidate had lost an election even before it is conducted. He added that it was incumbent on APC to either go to court or find another candidate. “Buhari is not a candidate for 2019 presidential election and the facts speak for themselves” said Okupe.
Okupe described Atiku Abubakar as the luckiest presidential candidate in Nigeria because the chances are very high that he would win. He also said that if Buhari wins, Atiku would still be declared winner because of the fact that Buhari was not validly nominated.
