PEPC Verdict: I Won’t Validate ‘Electoral Banditry’, Says Atiku

Former Vice President of Nigeria and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has denied congratulating President Bola Tinubu on his victory at the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC), saying he won’t validate what he called ‘electoral banditry’.

Atiku said he did not issue any press statement congratulating Tinubu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 electiom, following the affirmation of his electoral victory by the Tribunal on Wednesday.

The Media Adviser to the former Vice President, Mr. Paul Ibe, said the purported congratulatiry message was a fake news being orchestrated by those desperately looking for validation for the usurpation of the mandate of Nigerians.

According to Ibe, Atiku couldn’t have validated electoral banditry because doing so would have amounted to a rape on the conscience of Nigerians who have struggled for years to entrench electoral integrity.

“If conscience is clear and they are convinced that their victory is valid, they don’t have to blackmail their political opponents into congratulating them through fake news.

“Why should a man be desperate for validation? Does truth require validation? Why should you issue a congratulatory statement and attribute it to Atiku if your conscience is not troubled by the electoral heist you have perpetrated,” he queried.

He added that contrary to the fake news being allegedly circulated by Tinubu propagandists, Atiku had already asked his lawyers to proceed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement of the election petition tribunal.

“To confirm that the purported message is fake and pedestrian, it was addressed to the “President-elect.” Though we know it is a pyrrhic victory, is it not ridiculous to still address Bola Tinubu as “President-elect” five months after swearing-in?

“This struggle is not about Atiku; it’s about Nigeria and the future of our democracy. By allowing election riggers to get away with their misdeeds, our democracy will be in greater jeopardy. Consent is essential to democratic mandate; ruling people against their will undermines everything democracy stands for,” he stated.

He also explained that the PDP presidential candidate was not going into retirement and will instead continue to be part of the struggle to deepen democracy in the country.

“The Waziri has nothing personal against President Tinubu. He owes him no ill will. Let me, however, make it very clear that this struggle is about principle and justice. He is not in this struggle because he hates Tinubu. He is in it to ensure that people who rigged elections are not allowed to get away with it. Injustice and rigging promote bitterness and division. No leader should be proud to lead angry and aggrieved citizens,” Ibe stressed.