‘Face-saving measure’ — PDP accuses APC of pushing for election postponement

The Atiku/Okowa campaign organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council is seeking a postponement of the general election.

In a statement on Sunday, Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesperson of the Atiku campaign organisation, said Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, is making moves with his party to push for the postponement of the polls.

The Atiku campaign alleged that a meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was held on the issue, but the electoral body “firmly resisted” the said request by the APC.

“Our campaign again alerts that the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation is desperate for a postponement of the 2023 elections as part of its design to cause panic, create an atmosphere of political uncertainty, destabilise the electoral process and foist an undemocratic situation on our country, having come to a conclusion that its Presidential Candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been rejected by Nigerians ahead of the February 25, 2023 Presidential election,” the statement reads.

“The Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organisation has been made aware of how agents of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign, led by a notorious governor of an APC-controlled North West State, were firmly resisted by INEC and other well-meaning prominent personalities in the country in a recent meeting where the Tinubu agents had gone to canvass for the postponement of the 2023 polls.

“Apparently frustrated, the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign has reportedly increased its pressure on INEC while scaling up its notorious resort to public incitements, incendiary comments, wild allegations on the policy with the view to further orchestrate violence and heighten tension to justify its demands for election postponement.

“This accounts for recent reckless allegations by unscrupulous officials of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign, which has also lined up series of false alarms, lies and distortions, with the objective of instilling confusion and insecurity in the polity.

“It is clear that Tinubu, having been demystified and having come to the end of his political games in the face of the dazzling popularity of the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is now desperate for a face-saving measure, for which his campaign is ready to derail our democratic process.

“Nigerians can recall that the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign had in a recent statement officially conceded to Atiku Abubakar’s electoral superiority to Senator Tinubu, wherein it also stated that Atiku Abubakar is well-grounded, more popular and poised to sweep the poll in most states of the country.

“What Nigerians expect of Tinubu, at this time, is to humbly accept his rejection and quit the presidential race, especially now that he has refused to engage in debates or unscripted interviews.”