Tinubu campaign to Atiku: You’re welcome to challenge election result, we’re ready for you

The All Progressives Congress presidential campaign council says it is not intimidated by Atiku Abubakar’s threat to contest the result of the election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The commission, on Wednesday, declared Bola Tinubu, candidate of the APC, as the winner of the presidential poll.

Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes while Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had the second-highest figure with 6,984,52 votes and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) polled 6,101,533 votes.

During the collation of the results on Tuesday, the LP and PDP asked Yakubu Mahmood to resign as the chairman of INEC.

The parties also demanded that the presidential election be conducted afresh. 

Abubakar on Thursday alleged that the election was characterised by fraud and vowed to challenge the result.

In a statement on Thursday, Festus Keyamo, the campaign council spokesperson, said Abubakar’s presidential bid was “dead on arrival” as his successive failure showed he is unelectable.

“Firstly, Atiku Abubakar breached the zoning principle within his own party by insisting on running for President when that was clearly against the mood of the nation; even after emerging as a candidate, the PDP itself continued to rub insult on the faces of southern leaders in the Party by insisting on keeping the position of National Chairman in the North,” the statement reads.

“This obviously led to the rebellion of the G5 Governors and their subsequent sabotage of the PDP before the polls and at the polls by campaigning against ATIKU’S candidature. His failure to unite his party and manage this post-primaries fall-out was his eventual undoing.

“Atiku’s bid for the Presidency this time around was dead on arrival when his inordinate ambition fractured his party into 3 parts, with Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwanso and Mr. Peter Obi breaking away to the NNPP and the Labour Party respectively.

“The massive loss he suffered in traditional PDP zones and States is a clear testament to this. One wonders, then, how he expected to have won the election. It is also comical to see that he claims victory at the polls together with Mr. Peter Obi with whom his party has been holding press conferences. 

“Following his successive failures and rejection by Nigerians in different elections, it should be clear to him by now that he is simply UNELECTABLE. The expositions relating to his self-confessed mode of siphoning public funds whilst in office through SPVs further dented his aspiration before Nigerians.

“Atiku Abubakar’s decision to challenge the outcome of the results is welcome. We are prepared to meet his challenge, no matter the nature of the challenge, anywhere and anytime. 

“If Atiku Abubakar is not embracing the olive branch extended to him and other losers in the 2023 elections by the President-elect, ASIWAJU Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the least he can do is to quietly relocate to Dubai which has become his traditional home base.