1. Atiku Abubakar denies congratulating President Bola Tinubu on tribunal victory
2. Atiku Abubakar calls out fake news, accuses opponents of seeking validation for electoral fraud
3. Atiku Abubakar vows to challenge election petition tribunal judgment in Supreme Court
In a recent development, the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has vehemently denied congratulating President Bola Tinubu on his alleged victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Atiku has labeled the statement circulating in the media as fake news, claiming that it is an orchestrated attempt by those desperately seeking validation for what he calls the “usurpation of the mandate of Nigerians.”
Through his Media Aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku clarified that he could not possibly endorse what he sees as electoral banditry. Congratulating Tinubu under these circumstances, according to Atiku, would be tantamount to a violation of the conscience of the Nigerian people who have strived for years to establish electoral integrity in the country.
Furthermore, Atiku questioned the need for his opponents to resort to fake news to extract congratulations from him. He asked why they felt desperate for validation and why they believed that the truth required such validation. Atiku raised concerns over the attributing of a congratulatory statement to him while his conscience remained troubled by what he perceives as electoral fraud.
In contrast to the claims circulated by Tinubu’s propagandists, Atiku revealed that he has instructed his legal team to challenge the decision of the election petition tribunal in the Supreme Court. This move is aimed at contesting the judgment and seeking justice for what Atiku believes to be an electoral heist.
To expose the purported message as fake, Atiku pointed out that Tinubu was addressed as the “President-elect” in the alleged congratulatory statement. Given that Tinubu has not been sworn in as the president, as it has been five months since the alleged victory, Atiku considers this a glaring indication of the message’s falsehood.
Atiku emphasized that the struggle is not merely about him, but rather about Nigeria and the future of democracy in the country. Allowing election riggers to go unpunished, according to Atiku, poses a significant threat to the stability of democracy. He stressed the importance of consent in ensuring a legitimate democratic mandate and warned that ruling against the will of the people undermines the very foundations of democracy.
In light of these developments, the legal battle between Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Tinubu promises to continue in the Supreme Court as Atiku seeks to challenge the judgment of the election petition tribunal and defend what he believes to be the integrity of the Nigerian electoral process.
