The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned in strong terms an alleged  ‘secret meeting’ between the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari at the Presidential Villa on Friday.

According to a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the party called on President Buhari not to allow his personal ambition to push the nation into chaos.

The PDP also cautioned the INEC Chairman not to succumb to pressures for him to manipulate the electoral process in favour of President Buhari as doing such could cause serious crisis capable of heating up the polity and disintegrating the nation.

The statement further warned that those who it said were bent on forcing President Buhari on an unwilling nation were fast pushing the nation to the brinks and should be cautioned before it becomes too late.

Ologbondiyan maintained that it was also wrong for the electoral body to have listed President Buhari as the presidential candidate of the APC despite his inability to provide his educational qualification certificate.

The statement read: “Prof. Yakubu should note that the polity is already tensed over INEC’s listing of President Buhari for election despite his failure to present the constitutionally required academic credentials like other candidates.

“This development casts a dark shadow on the credibility of INEC to conduct a transparent election. INEC is invited to further note that Nigerians are aware that by President Buhari’s declaration, in an affidavit, that his said certificates are with the military, his nomination documentation is, therefore, constitutionally incomplete, making him ineligible to contest the 2019 Presidential elections.

“Also,  by failing to write to the military authorities to release his claimed certificates, Mr. President leaves Nigerians with no option than to hold that he does not have the credentials and the 1999 Constitution (as amended) did not provide that affidavits can be used as a substitute for any candidate’s credentials.

“Moreover, Mr. President’s affidavit also shows that he did not submit any certificate in 2015, making his candidacy for that election improper and defective under our laws.

“Prof. Yakubu must have noted the heavy public criticisms that have been trailing his provocative declaration that Nigerians should go to court over the certificate saga. His statement betrays an electoral umpire who is under threats and heavy pressure to abdicate his statutory duty of enforcing constitutional requirements for elections.”

The statement added that the PDP was of the opinion that foisting and allowing such siege mentality on the nation’s democratic institutions could spell doom for the county in the nearest future.