- Atiku Abubakar warns APC supporters, including President Tinubu, against disrupting proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal
- Atiku’s special assistant cautions against intimidation of the judiciary, referencing past instances where protests were orchestrated to influence court cases involving Tinubu
- The statement highlights the deepening poverty and inflation under Tinubu’s administration
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, has warned supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, President Bola Tinubu, against disrupting proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
According to a statement issued by Atiku’s special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, the warning became necessary following the sponsored protest staged by Tinubu’s supporters at the European Union headquarters in Abuja following the release of the EU Observer Mission report, which revealed how the election failed the credibility test.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) received a low rating in the EU report for its handling of the election. However, Tinubu’s surrogates, including his spokesman, Dele Alake, former activist Festus Keyamo, and Femi Fani-Kayode, who were also named in the report, all rejected the findings.
Following that, a group of APC supporters stormed the EU headquarters and were given full police protection to carry out the demonstration.
Reacting, however, Shaibu stated;
We seize this opportunity to send a warning to the Tinubu government and its minions against disrupting the proceedings of the election tribunal as they have shown a clear disdain for the truth by picketing the EU office.”
Recall that in 1999, when the late legendary lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, sued Tinubu for school certificate forgery, thugs were sponsored to cause protests outside the court house. Similarly, when Tinubu was facing charges before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, thugs were similarly sponsored to protest at the trial, all in a bid to intimidate the judiciary.
We find it curious that the same security agencies which have been issuing statements barring protests were curiously available to provide cover for sponsored pro-government protesters to picket the EU office. We sound a note of warning to the security agencies to be on the alert as the tribunal proceedings wind down. The world is watching.
Shaibu lamented that in just 40 days of Tinubu’s administration, poverty had deepened, and inflation had skyrocketed.
He added that the poverty had made innocent Nigerians susceptible to manipulation, and the APC was exploiting this.
Shaibu stated;
Today, food has become a luxury. The purchasing power of the people has dropped no thanks to an unplanned petrol subsidy removal, which was not accompanied by any form of palliatives. With just N1,000, any riffraff on the street could be handed a t-shirt and placard to engage in protests they know nothing about.
This is how low Nigeria has sunk low since Tinubu took over the reins of government.
Discussion about this post