The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has debunked the reports that he has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court.

Atiku, a former Vice President, said he has already directed his lawyers to proceed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement of the tribunal.

He stated that a purported statement from him congratulating Tinubu on the judgement of the tribunal was fake and orchestrated by “those desperately looking for validation for the usurpation of the mandate of Nigerians”.

The PDP standard-bearer made this known in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Thursday, September 7, 2023.

Ibe stated: “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 their 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.

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“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.

“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 stressed that the PDP presidential candidate would not be going into retirement and would 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.

The Star