APC campaign: Atiku, Obi should emulate Jonathan by calling to congratulate Tinubu

The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council has asked Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to accept defeat by calling congratulate Bola Tinubu.

Dele Alake, the campaign council’s media adviser, spoke at a media briefing on Tuesday in Abuja.

The collation of results for the election is ongoing and Tinubu has won in 12 states, while also securing the constitutionally-required 25 percent of valid votes in several other states.

TheCable had reported that Adewole Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said Abubakar and Obi should show they love Nigeria by conceding to Tinubu.

Speaking at the event, Alake asked the two candidates should follow the example of former President Goodluck Jonathan who congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari even before a winner was declared in the 2015 election.

“We call on Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan by conceding defeat,” he said.

“This election has already been won by our candidate, according to the results declared at the collation centres in the state.

“In 2015, President Jonathan did not wait for INEC to finish collation before he called President Muhammadu Buhari and congratulated him in the true spirit of democracy and sportsmanship.

“We urge Atiku Abubakar and Obi to follow the same path of honour, instead of attempting to heat the polity via the reckless statements by surrogates. Let Atiku and Obi call Tinubu now.”

Also speaking at the media briefing, Festus Keyamo, spokesperson of the APC presidential campaign council, tackled critics calling for the resignation of Mahmood Yakubu, chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Keyamo said that it was legally wrong for any candidate or political party to call for a change in the electoral process when the final result had not been declared.