Tinubu Can’t Get Away With ‘Rigged Presidential Election’ – Atiku Denies Letting Go

Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has denied accepting the outcome of the February 25 poll.

Atiku insisted that the election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared was won by Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was marred by irregularities and that he has no plan to renege on legal challenge of the outcome.

The former vice president said the presidential election was “widely rigged” and remains “the worst election in our democratic history” hence a statement credited to him as giving legitimacy to the outcome is fake.

“The so-called press release did not emanate from me or my office, and it should be treated with repudiation, untrue, and deliberately contrived by those who illegally appropriated the mandate of the Nigerian people.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, I wish to state categorically that my lawyers still have my unflinching mandate to challenge the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.

“I join other lovers of democracy in Nigeria and friends of our great country in the outright rejection of the predetermined outcome of the February 25 election,” he said.

Atiku noted, “I shall continue to challenge the legality of that election, alongside my party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

“The decision to challenge the sham election of February 25, the worst election in our democratic history, is not predicated on my personal interest but the interest of Nigeria and its people. It is aimed at deepening democracy and ensuring that we do not confer legitimacy to an outcome of illegitimacy.

“My commitment to the democratic struggle in Nigeria is beyond an election season.”

INEC had on March 1 (four days after the presidential election) declared that Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku and Peter Obi of the Labour Party who scored 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.

But the electoral umpire’s failure to abide by its own laws to transmit results of the election electronically in real-time as well as reports of incorrence in collated figures prompted losers in the election to challenge the outcome in court.