By Elsie Udoh
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to a protest led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.
Atiku alongside several PDP leaders had reportedly staged a protest outside the INEC offices on Monday morning.
This development has sparked a flurry of comments on social media. Also in reaction, the APC released a statement signed by its Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga.
Describing the action carried out by Atiku, Onanuga wrote that it was a “new low” carried out by the “election loser” and other “nay jesters” which would not result in any victory.
Onanuga claimed that the PDP flagbearer constituted a nuisance and was a disturbance to work goers on early Monday morning by staging the protest.
According to Onanuga, Atiku who was a former Vice President of Nigeria, statesman and Presidential candidate was not expected to be so jobless as to have time to disturb public peace over an electoral outcome he had already said he would challenge in court and reminded him to uphold the good name of the positions he had once served.
He further admonished Atiku to take the honourable and lawful path of getting his lawyers to plead his case in court rather than “throwing tantrums like a baby whose candy was taken away over an election he clearly lost due to his own poor judgment; mismanagement of his own party and violation of power rotational arrangement between the North and the South.”
Onanuga referred to Atiku and the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi as having embarrassed themselves enough and told them to decide who among them was the supposed winner that will challenge APC’s victory in the court and admonished Atiku to retire honourable as his age was not on his side.
“Finally, we advise Atiku to retire honourably from politics and move to his abode in Dubai. At 77 in November, Atiku does not have age on his side again. He has participated in his last election and hopefully, he has learnt worthy lessons, never to place his selfish interest above party and established principles in his party and the polity,” the statement partly reads.
Meanwhile, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi had condemned the results of the presidential election as flawed and requested the Court of Appeal in Abuja to inspect electoral materials used in the conduct of the election following their loss to the APC presidential candidate and president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
