Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has declared the outcome of the February 25 presidential election illegitimate. Atiku stated that his lawyers still had his unflinching mandate to challenge the result of the poll at the Election Petitions Tribunal. He described the election as the worst in Nigeria’s democratic history.
In a statement signed by Atiku himself, he debunked a fake press release purportedly from him, giving legitimacy to what he described as a widely rigged presidential election. He emphasized that the press release did not emanate from him or his office, and should be treated with repudiation as it’s untrue, and deliberately contrived by those who illegally appropriated the mandate of the Nigerian people.
Atiku stated that he joins other lovers of democracy in Nigeria and friends of the country in the outright rejection of the predetermined outcome of the February 25 election. He affirmed that he shall continue to challenge the legality of that election, alongside his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
He noted that the decision to challenge the sham election of February 25 was not predicated on his personal interest but for the interest of Nigeria and its people. It is aimed at deepening democracy and ensuring that they do not confer legitimacy to an outcome of illegitimacy. Atiku assured that his commitment to the democratic struggle in Nigeria is beyond an election season.
Atiku called on all Nigerians to join hands in demanding an electoral system that is free, fair and credible, saying it is only such a system that can guarantee good governance, development and the prosperity of the nation. He also urged his supporters and members of the PDP to remain calm and law-abiding while the party takes steps to reclaim its mandate through lawful means.