ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, has urged President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to admit that they rigged the poll.
Atiku also praised the European Union Election Monitoring Group for stating in its report that the last election was indeed ladened with electoral irregularities and failed to meet the minimum standard of credibility.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, Phrank Shaibu.
In the statement, Atiku also lambasted Tinubu and his spokesman, Dele Alake, for trying to discredit the EU’s report.
Atiku in the statement said, even the dead knew that the last election lacked credibility and even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had been unable to explain why nearly five months after the election, it had refused to upload the full results on its result viewing portal.
Describing as nonsensical Alake’s claim that the EU was a meddlesome interloper for discrediting the poll, Atiku said it was hypocritical of the Nigerian government to receive millions of dollars from the EU as election fund and then turn around to claim that the EU has no right to make comments on the election.
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He said: “Even primary school children who did not vote know that INEC failed woefully and that Tinubu rigged the last election.
“The Presidential election held on February 25, 2023 and yet as of 2 July, 2023, the result of the Presidential election has not been fully uploaded. This is despite the fact that this election was the most expensive in the history of West Africa.
“How can an election in which the full results have not been fully uploaded after nearly five months be described as credible by any sane human being? Even among robbers, there is honour! They should admit that they rigged. We wouldn’t kill them.
“The EU said in September last year that it budgeted 39 million euros for Nigeria’s 2023 election. Most of the funding went to INEC as election support.
“The EU not only provided training for INEC staff but also donated equipment only for INEC to conduct a shambolic poll. So why would Alake claim that the EU has no right to speak when it was the largest single donor to INEC? Mr Alake should rather be quiet rather than try to defend the indefensible.”