Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday expressed disbelief over U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call to the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Earlier on Wednesday, the United States Diplomatic mission in Nigeria announced that Blinken spoke to Tinubu on topics relating to Nigeria’s relationship with the U.S. as the country prepares to usher in a new administration.
However, Atiku in a tweet, described Tinubu’s recognition by the American government official as a contradiction of the US’ assessment of the vote held three months ago.
“I am in disbelief that @SecBlinken called Tinubu, a contradiction to the publicly stated position of the US on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
“This is inconceivable considering that America, as the bastion of democracy, is well briefed on the sham election of February 25.
“To give legitimacy to the widely acknowledged fraudulent election in Nigeria can be demoralising to citizens who have hedged their bet on democracy and the sanctity of the ballot @StateDept @POTUS @USinNigeria. -AA,” he tweeted.
In the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Atiku finished second in the 2023 Presidential election and is presently contesting the results at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja.