Presidential Election 2015: Jonathan Questions Buhari’s Victory - TheCable

President Goodluck Jonathan has, for the first time, questioned the results of the March 28 presidential election, maintaining that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still the dominant party in Nigeria. Jonathan had congratulated Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), before the final result was announced but has now said he only did it for the unity of Nigeria. He said the PDP could not have recorded the low scores recorded for him in some areas, and attributed the loss in Benue and Kogi to infighting.

The president was speaking on Thursday at the submission of the report of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation (PPCO) at the new banquet hall of the presidential villa. Jonathan said: “PDP is still the dominant party. If you look at the result, the difference is just over two million votes. And if you look at the areas where it is perceived that PDP scored so low, PDP couldn’t have gotten those kinds of scores.” He said now that the elections are over, “I put the country first”. That Nigeria is at peace is worth celebrating, Jonathan said, appearing to confirm reports that some western countries

had put ships on standby to evacuate their citizens in preparation for a post-election crisis in Nigeria. He said: “The countries that brought ships, everything around us, waiting to evacuate their citizens are happy because there was nobody to evacuate. The country was so tensed but everything has gone down now and I think that is the most important thing because the conviction is that you must have a country before you can run for an office. “Nigeria is a very complex country and you must manage it with care.

Yes, I did not consult  anybody before I made that phone call but I made that phone call on behalf of all you and on behalf of the PDP.” Jonathan said the PDP remains “the most organized party” and one that is not owned by “anybody”, urging them to put the loss in the 2015 elections behind and bounce back in 2019. “The key thing isn’t whether we lost or won but that Nigeria as a nation must move forward.