The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has been seeking endorsements for President-elect Bola Tinubu, including urging United States President Joe Biden to call and congratulate him.
However, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has criticized this move, describing it as an act of desperation. Atiku’s statement, issued by his Special Assistant for Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, called out Femi Fani-Kayode, the APC PCC Director of New Media, for taking to Twitter to express the need for Biden to add his voice, saying that it was evidence of desperation.
Atiku also criticized Tinubu and his team for trying to force foreign countries to recognize what he called the “sham election conducted by INEC.” He advised them to stop their efforts and save their strength for the legal challenge in the coming weeks. Atiku added that even the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, had said that Nigeria’s election was below the expectation of Nigerians, and many credible media houses and EU observers had questioned its credibility.
Atiku also referred to an analysis by Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London, which stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission failed to learn new lessons in the February 25 presidential election. The think tank stressed that the electoral umpire failed to adhere to its own guidelines, especially regarding the uploading of results in real-time.
Atiku’s statement concluded by calling on Tinubu and his team to recognize that the election was flawed and focus their efforts on the legal challenge instead of begging for recognition from foreign powers.
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