>
Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has vowed not to legitimise the presidential election of February 25, 2023, describing a purported statement attributing him to giving legitimacy to the election as “fake.”
Recall that some political parties, politicians, foreign and local election observers had decried the use of violence, vote buying, voter intimidation, among others, during the 2023 general elections.
While rejecting the outcome of the election, the PDP and Labour Party as well as their presidential candidates approached the court to seek redress over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election.
In a statement he personally signed on Saturday night, Atiku said that the so-called statement neither emanated from him nor his office, adding that it should be treated with repudiation, adding that it was untrue and deliberately contrived by those who “illegally appropriated the mandate of the Nigerian people.”
“For the avoidance of any doubt, I wish to state categorically that my lawyers still have my unflinching mandate to challenge the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.
“I join other lovers of democracy in Nigeria and friends of our great country in the outright rejection of the pre-determined outcome of the February 25 election,” he said.
The PDP presidential candidate pointed out that he would continue to challenge the legality of the election, alongside his party, the PDP.
“The decision to challenge the sham election of February 25, the worst election in our democratic history, is not predicated on my personal interest but for the interest of Nigeria and its people. It is aimed at deepening democracy and ensuring that we do not confer legitimacy to an outcome of illegitimacy.
“My commitment to the democratic struggle in Nigeria is beyond an election season,” he added.
