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The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate in the February 25, 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has declared his commitment to remaining in the political arena despite the Supreme Court’s verdict on October 26, 2023, affirming President Bola Tinubu’s electoral victory.
During a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, the former Vice President stated, “For me and my party, this phase of our work is complete. Nevertheless, I have no intention of stepping back. If you believe I’m going to fade away, think again.”
He emphasized his dedication to working alongside fellow Nigerians to enhance democracy and advocate for political and economic restructuring, as long as he is alive. Atiku, who served as Vice President from 1999 to 2007, has been vying for the Nigerian presidency for nearly three decades.
Despite his multiple unsuccessful attempts, the PDP stalwart emphasized his determination to persist. Atiku maintained that Tinubu, the former candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was not qualified for the February 2023 presidential election. He accused the Supreme Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of supporting actions such as illegality, identity theft, impersonation, certificate forgery, and perjury.
Atiku stressed that when people lose faith in the electoral process, democracy is endangered. He acknowledged the finality of the apex court’s ruling but expressed dissatisfaction with it. Atiku and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, had pursued legal challenges against Tinubu’s election all the way to the Supreme Court.
Unhappy with the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) in September, Atiku and Obi approached the Supreme Court, seeking to invalidate Tinubu’s election on grounds such as double nomination, alleged certificate forgery, non-transmission of results electronically, and insufficient votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), among other issues. However, the panel led by Justice John Okoro at the apex court dismissed all their appeals for lacking merit last Thursday, thereby upholding Tinubu’s electoral victory.
