The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has confirmed that he will not be going into political retirement despite his loss at election tribunal.
Atiku on Thursday vowed to continue contributing his quota in deepening democracy after Vice president Kasshim Shettima boasted to retire him into cattle rearing.
Atiku, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, said, “he is not going into retirement and will instead continue to be part of the struggle to deepen democracy in the country”.
The statement also described as false, reports that Atiku has congratulated President Bola Tinubu over the outcome of the election petition tribunal.
“It is fake news being orchestrated by those desperately looking for validation for the usurpation of the mandate of Nigerians,” he said.
According to Ibe, Atiku couldn’t have validated electoral banditry because doing so would have amounted to a rape on the conscience of Nigerians who have struggled for years to entrench electoral integrity.
“If their conscience is clear and they are convinced that their victory is valid, they don’t have to blackmail their political opponents into congratulating them through fake news.”
“Why should a man be desperate for validation? Does truth require validation? Why should you issue a congratulatory statement and attribute it to Atiku if your conscience is not troubled by the electoral heist you have perpetrated.
“The Waziri has nothing personal against President Tinubu. He owes him no ill will. Let me, however, make it very clear that this struggle is about principle and justice. He is not in this struggle because he hates Tinubu. He is in it to ensure that people who rigged elections are not allowed to get away with it. Injustice and rigging promote bitterness and division. No leader should be proud to lead angry and aggrieved citizens,” he stated.