From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, have chided the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for protesting at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, describing them as bad losers and desperados.

 INEC had declared the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, winner after scoring 8,794,726 votes while Atiku scored 6,984,520 votes.

National Secretary of the ruling party, Iyiola Omisore, who reacted to the protest, said their actions was undemocratic.

“They are just plain losers, simple. They are just pure losers, simple, no more, no less. In any contest, there must be winner and there must be losers. So, must you win? No! They are just bad losers simple. Very undemocratic and they are desperate people, desperados simple,” he fumed.

 Tinubu also mocked Atiku, saying “he and his motley crowd have descended to a new low as perennial election loser.”

   The former Lagos State governor, who spoke through the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), said he was not surprised with Atiku’s action judging by his antecedent. 

He said he did not expect a former vice president, statesman and presidential candidate to be so jobless to have time to disturb public peace over an electoral outcome he had already said he would challenge in court.

The statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, director, Media & Publicity, PCC, further described them as mere comic characters in a travelling theatre group.

“When the defeated PDP presidential candidate, Atiku told the whole world last week that he would seek redress in court over the outcome of the February 25 presidential election, little did we know that he did not plan to be guided by his own promise.

“Going by his political antecedents, it was rather not surprising that Atiku, days later, led a band of protesters, nay jesters, in Abuja, to the headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). 

“What was on display today (yesterday) by Atiku and his motley crowd was a new low from the perennial election loser. With Atiku staging a theatre of the absurd, we fail to see how a march to INEC by a scanty crowd will provide any victory window for him and his fragmented PDP.

“The only recourse open to Atiku after the electoral umpire declared Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, is the Election Petition Tribunal. Instead of Atiku and his party to wisely spend their time to gather the so-called evidence they hope to present before the courts, they are busy dancing ‘Skelewu’ on the streets and causing traffic nuisance to residents of the FCT who were going to work on a Monday morning.

“We don’t expect a former vice president of Nigeria, statesman and presidential candidate 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.”

 Tinubu, however, advised him to respect his age and the high office of the vice presidency of Nigeria he once occupied. 

“He should stop being teleguided by Dino Melaye, who disclosed scandalously that N400 billion was wasted on the election, which was clear at the outset that Atiku was bound to lose.

“Atiku should avoid being misdirected by other court jesters in his party, who continued to campaign after the election, still spewing their inanities against the President-elect. They are mere comic characters in a travelling theatre group.

“INEC headquarters is not a court where the prayers of Atiku can be answered. No amount of theatrical display will give him succour. The honourable and lawful path to take is for Atiku to get his lawyers to plead his case in court.

“He should stop 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.

“The PDP presidential candidate dug his own grave, in his last election and, absurdly, he is trying to rewrite the script of his own utter failure. We wonder how Atiku and his party hoped to win, when he himself admitted that Peter Obi, his running mate in 2019, ran away  with traditional PDP votes from the South-East and South-South. 

“It is preposterous that while Atiku is disturbing public peace, chanting phantom electoral victory, Peter Obi is making same claim. We think both men have embarrassed themselves enough and it is time they both resolved who between them is the supposed winner that will challenge our party’s victory in court. 

“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,” Tinubu said.