The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has denied congratulating President Bola Tinubu over his victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
Atiku described the reported statement of him congratulating Tinubu over the outcome of the tribunal outing as fake news being orchestrated by those desperately looking for validation for the usurpation of the mandate of Nigerians.
In a statement by his Media Aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said he could not have validated electoral banditry because doing so would have amounted to a rape on the conscience of Nigerians who have struggled for years to entrench electoral integrity.
According to Ibe: “If their conscience is clear and they are convinced that their victory is valid, they don’t have to blackmail their political opponents into congratulating them through fake news.
“Why should a man be desperate for validation? Does truth require validation? Why should you issue a congratulatory statement and attribute it to Atiku if your conscience is not troubled by the electoral heist you have perpetrated?
Contrary to the fake news being circulated by Tinubu propagandists, Atiku said he has directed his lawyers to proceed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement of the election petition tribunal.
To confirm that the purported message is fake and pedestrian, Atiku said Tinubu was addressed as the “President-elect.”
“Though we know it is a pyrrhic victory, is it not ridiculous to still address Bola Tinubu as “President-elect” five months after swearing-in?
“This struggle is not about Atiku; it’s about Nigeria and the future of our democracy. By allowing election riggers to get away with their misdeeds, our democracy will be in greater jeopardy. Consent is essential to democratic mandate; ruling people against their will undermines everything democracy stands for.”
