‘New low from perennial loser’ — APC tackles Atiku over protest at INEC HQ

The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council has expressed dismay over a demonstration staged by Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and members of his party.

The presidential candidate and Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the PDP, on Monday, led bigwigs of the party in a protest to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the federal capital territory (FCT).

Though the PDP is in court challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu, president-elect, it is asking the electoral commission to conduct a fresh election.

In a statement on Monday, Bayo Onanuga, the council’s media director, said instead of gathering evidence for the election petition tribunal, Abubakar and his followers were dancing “skelewu” on the streets of the nation’s capital.

“What was on display today by Alhaji Atiku and his motley crowd was a new low from the perennial election loser,” Onanuga said.

“With Atiku staging a theatre of the absurd, we fail to see how a march to INEC by a scanty crowd will provide any victory window for him and his fragmented PDP. The only recourse open to Atiku after the electoral umpire declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, is the election petition tribunal.

“Instead of Atiku and his party to wisely spend their time to gather the so-called evidence they hope to present before the courts, they are busy dancing ‘skelewu’ on the streets and causing traffic nuisance to residents of the FCT who were going to work on a Monday morning.

“We don’t expect a former vice-president of Nigeria, a statesman and a presidential candidate to be so jobless as to have time to disturb public peace over an electoral outcome he had already said he would challenge in court.

“We want to admonish Alhaji Atiku to respect his age and the high office of the Vice Presidency of Nigeria he once occupied.

“He should stop being teleguided by Dino Melaye, who disclosed scandalously that N400 billion was wasted on the election, which was clear at the outset that Atiku was bound to lose.”

Onanuga said both Abubakar and Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), have embarrassed themselves by both laying claims to the victory.

“We advise Atiku to retire honourably from politics and move to his abode in Dubai. At 77 in November, Atiku does not have age on his side again,” he said.