Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) nominee for president, stated on Thursday that he thought Peter Obi, a former ally who is now his rival, could not have won on Saturday.
Atiku claimed that Mr. Obi, the Labour Party candidate, could not have obtained the support necessary to be sworn in as president in accordance with the constitution.
A candidate must receive 25% of the vote in at least 24 states in addition to receiving the majority of the votes to be proclaimed the winner of the presidential election.
Atiku admitted in his address that Mr. Obi’s candidacy prevented the PDP from winning votes from its traditional strongholds in the South-east and South-South regions, but he added that winning those regions couldn’t be enough to give Mr. Obi the presidency.
Atiku restated his party’s position to reject the results of the presidential election during a press conference in Abuja.
Absolutely, I agree that he received our votes from the South East and South, which, of course, did not qualify him for the presidency. You’re all aware that in Nigeria’s presidential election, you need support from all corners, he remarked.
Obi was in a rush — Atiku
In response to a query from a journalist, Atiku stated that the reason the LP candidate quit the PDP prior to the primary elections was because he was terrified of the PDP governors, who had decided that a candidate ought to come from their ranks.