The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to accept his loss in the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku, who ran on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), came second in the election. He had challenged the victory of the president in court, but lost as the Presidential Tribunal, struck out his petition.
The allegation of forgery was one of those dismissed by the presidential election court. Despite the court’s ruling, Atiku continued his case at the US court, which eventually ordered release of official documents Atiku seeks to include in his appeal at the Supreme Court.
The academic records were released to Atiku’s lawyers on Monday after which the registrar of Chicago State University, Caleb Westberg, orally deposed to them.
At a press conference on Thursday, Atiku spoke on why he went that length, calling on other presidential candidates to join what he described as a fight for probity.
But responding to the allegations raised by Atiku, Felix Morka, APC spokesman, said Atiku’s press conference “lacked purpose and delivered nothing “.
He added that Tinubu had been cleared of the allegations thrown at him and that the school affirmed that the president graduated from the school.
“For several weeks now, Nigerians and the world have watched with incredulity Alhaji Abubakar’s display of utter desperation in his failed bid to become the President of Nigeria.”
“Earlier today, he put his desperation in overdrive during his press conference where he addressed some of the issues in his appeal at the Supreme Court and bandying unproven charges against the President of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a calculated attempt to shamelessly whip up public sentiments and inordinately pressure the Supreme Court.
“We believe Atiku should have known better than to demonstrate gross contempt of the highest court by making public comments on a matter that he has submitted to the court for adjudication.
“The major takeaway from his Yar’Adua Centre show, especially at question time, was that Atiku harbours deep animosity towards Tinubu whom he believes was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and this year.”
Morka accused Atiku of desperation and acting in a manner unbecoming of a statesman who once occupied the second highest office in the land.
“The PDP candidate in the last election has thrown every decency, decorum, dignity and national respectability out the window on his purposeless judicial voyage of discovery to the United States in search of a magic wand for taking power against the will of the Nigerian electorate loudly expressed in last February’s presidential election.”
“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar holds the unenviable title of Nigeria’s most prolific election loser and longest running presidential candidate in history, and we see his recent US fishing expedition as the last kick of a roundly rejected presidential aspirant.
“While we sympathise with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for spending a lifetime pursuing unrealised dream, we strongly condemn the perfidious road he has taken and the needless negative exposure of Nigeria and the institution of the Presidency in foreign land.
“We want to urge former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to graciously accept his defeat and quietly lick his political wound with some dignity. Nigerians rejected him at the polls, and he cannot get by subterfuge what he failed to get through the ballot box.
“Nigerians validly elected President Tinubu to revamp our economy, restore security, create jobs, provide transformative infrastructure, improve electricity supply and enhance the living conditions of the masses.
“President Tinubu has undertaken to serve Nigerians and he will not be distracted by a man who has consistently failed to achieve his self-serving and brutal quest to become Nigeria’s president.”
