APC winning is a loss to the nation - Saraki

- Bukola Saraki has condemned the role of the military in the presidential election

- The Senate president said APC's win is a loss for the country

- Saraki expressed optimism that PDP will win in the rerun elections

Senate president, Bukola Saraki, has described the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the presidential election as a loss to the nation saying it will be short-lived.

Premium Times reports that Saraki spoke on Wednesday, March 20, at an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja.

The Senate president condemned the role played by the military in the election saying it has made the country a laughing stock.

He said: “This victory that the other party has seen is going to be short lived. If anybody believes that it is a loss to PDP, it is a loss to the country that history will not forgive.

“We said it many times here, that the worst to do is to do an election that as a country Nigeria will not be proud of. We have done an election that no doubt anybody and even those that think they have won are ashamed of the kind of election that we did."

According to Saraki, it is a shame that those that were given that responsibility to conduct free and fair elections failed. He said they had Saturday, March 23, as their last opportunity to try as much as possible to reclaim part of their embarrassment to the country.

“How can a country like Nigeria, as the speaker said, Ghana has done it, even Congo, even Zimbabwe have done elections. And we say we do elections, with seven inconclusive. We did elections before, in 2015, we did it in 2011, 1999 and after so many years, this is what we can produce.

“It is not a loss to the PDP, it is to the country. It just shows the level of desperation. I have confidence that this will be shortlived and as such let us ensure on Saturday, that these five states that are ours remain within the PDP and INEC should for once do what is right.

“We have a great future ahead and I believe we will start that on Saturday to make sure that we defend those five states that are declared inconclusive," he added.

Peter Obi who is the vice presidential candidate said the military should not only be blamed but those directing them.

He said: “As for me, while we blame the INEC and the security agencies, the biggest shame goes to those who are directing them to do the wrong thing.

“If you choose to be a leader, especially with APC that claims integrity, the biggest corruption and the biggest show of a government that does not believe in integrity is to rig election. Because the process through which you come into office, is far more fundamental than what you do there after.

“I think we should hold them responsible for what is happening in this country now. The examples we are setting for the young ones, I don’t know what they will tell a young man who is cheating in an exam in this country after seeing the ways our elections are conducted. I don’t know what they will tell those who are robbing banks and kidnapping people, because we have seen the biggest of it by this election where people are happy after robbing the nation and their states."

Meanwhile, the APC has reacted to the PDP’s claim that they won the election by 1.6 million.

The APC in a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, on Wednesday, March 20 said the claim by the PDP showed the party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar , have slipped into post-election depression.