The presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shelve its plans on the conduct of a run-off presidential election in 2023, saying he will win at the first ballot.

INEC had earlier announced plans to conduct a run-off presidential election where no candidate meets the conditional requirements for declaring a winner from votes cast on February 25, 2023.

Reacting to the development, Atiku, in a statement issued on Saturday by the spokesperson of his campaign organisation, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the electoral umpire should not bother to conduct a run-off presidential election, stressing that he will win at the first ballot.

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“Our campaign counsels INEC not to listen to diversionary narratives by apologists of the deflated All Progressives Congress (APC) who are ostensibly seeking ways to derail the election, having realised that their party has been rejected.

“The campaign urges INEC to deploy its resources towards conducting a free, fair, transparent and credible election that will be generally accepted by majority of Nigerians.

“Our campaign is confident that by every indices and data available, our candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will win the presidential election of February 25, 2023 at the first run.

“The APC has seen defeat ahead as Nigerians are quickly reaching a consensus on the fact that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is not electable,” Ologbondiyan stated.

He, however, urged Nigerians to “remain resolute in their determination to vote in their choice, Atiku Abubakar, and take every step necessary within the ambit of the law to protect their votes.”

The Star