By DAPO AKINREFON

MR Yinka Odumakin is spokesman  for  the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, General Muhammadu Buhari. In this interview, he explains why the CPC is going to court and maintains that the party remains a  force to reckon with. Excerpts:

Your party seems to have lost confidence in the Professor Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Well, the conduct of INEC under Jega has eroded the integrity of INEC on many scores. Before the elections, people had been caught printing ballot papers after Jega had told the whole world that INEC will print ballot papers abroad. There were people in Abuja  caught printing ballot papers in a press that belongs to a PDP chieftain, yet Jega claimed that he was the one that contracted the job.

Some people were caught in Oyo State.  Jega also claimed that he was the one that contracted the job and it was quite clear on election day  that, across the country, the same ballot papers were circulated.

Secondly, on the day of the presidential elections  when results were being collated in Abuja, it was discovered that the excel programme that was used by INEC  to compute results was deducting the CPC votes and our agent called Jega’s attention to it. After manual computation was done, and it was discovered that our objection was right, Jega said he would not accede to our demands to have all the results recomputed, unless we bring a letter to that effect.

We complied with the demand but he decided to go ahead to announce the bogus result. In the whole of the South-South and South-East, it was clear that results were just bogus and Jega was saying that our request to examine ballot papers after the elections would necessitate changing the result in every other polling station in the country.
For him not to  allow us to examine the ballot papers in other states, particularly in the South-East and South-South, clearly shows that he has  intentions that are clearly not noble and all he wanted to do was to deliver, in a hurry, the hatchet job he had to do.

Based on this and other findings, it gives us doubt on the integrity of INEC and we have lost confidence in that body. Also, the elections should be seen as the worst rigged in the history of this country and we hope to prove that at the tribunal.

Having said that, do you still have confidence in INEC conducting free, fair and credible future polls in Nigeria?
Unless we are able to see to it that the leadership of INEC is restructured, it is not possible for us to have credible elections. The struggle for free, fair and credible elections is a continuous one.

Less than nine months to the just concluded elections, the CPC became a major force in Nigeria’s polity and, at the same time, became a household name. How does the party intend to maintain the tempo in such a way that it will outlast Buhari?

For a party that came into being nine months to the elections, it is clear that it is the party to beat. The desire that has already been expressed by other opposition party to form a Government of National Unity, based on the rigged a flawed elections, it shows that the CPC has emerged as a major opposition party in Nigeria, to give hope to our people, to galvanise them for credible change.

Though General Buhari has declared that he will not contest the outcome of the elections in the law court, but, as his spokesman, does he still intend to contest in future elections?

He is a man of his word. He has not said anything contrary to what he has said. But as regards the decision to go to court, the Electoral Act is very clear; it is either the candidate or the  party that can go to court. His party has chosen  to contest the election at the tribunal and, until that is done; you cannot say it is over yet.

How optimistic are you that your party will get justice at the tribunal?

We need to marshal out points first to know whether we will get justice or not.
What strategies are being put in place to position CPC as a political party and  not as Buhari’s property?
He does not even have properties scattered all over the place like some people. Since he left as military head of state, the only property he has is the one in Katsina State;  so, the question of him making the CPC his own personal property does not arise. The CPC will outlive him.

What is the way forward for CPC?

First is to get our petition to the tribunal, as we proceed with that, other things will follow.