Atiku can never be President of Nigeria ― Oshiomhole

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was too desperate to occupy the exalted office of President of Nigeria.

The APC chairman made the claim on Thursday at a press briefing in Abuja.

Comrade Oshiomhole who expressed reservation over the PDP presidential candidate stance  to challenge the declaration of the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, as the winner of last weekend presidential election by the Independent National Election Commission, (INEC) further claimed that Alhaji Abubakar recourse to the presidential election tribunal posed serious threat to the spirit of the peace accord the PDP presidential candidate signed along with other contenders for the election.

He said Atiku’s record of changing political platforms since 2007 gave him out as a desperate politician.

He said: “I think it is arrogance for Atiku to think that our future is tied to his Presidency. Atiku is destined never to be President of Nigeria and I ask you to review his character.

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“Leadership is about character. Atiku’s desperation is so obvious. He is so desperate that in 2003, he challenged his own boss, Obasanjo. He decamped to join Action Congress and we offered him the ticket and he lost the election and returned to PDP. He contested again and lost the nomination and because he has only his interest at heart, he decamped again from PDP.

“He joined us in Lagos and rolled out the dollars, but we voted for Buhari as our candidate. He knew that he cannot defeat Buhari in the primary and went back to the PDP. Do you think that such a political rolling stone, does he think that Nigerians are so insincere as to think that a man who is not stable and whose interest is about himself will be a possible candidate to be elected.?

What makes him have that sense of entitlement that he must be President of Nigeria? ”

The former Edo state governor who disclosed that his party was determined to cross-appeal the PDP presidential candidate petition at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal further argued that his party was also a victim of an electoral heist in certain states.

” You cannot deny anyone the right to dispute the outcome of an election however free and fair. So, we hope and we are looking forward to meeting Atiku Abubakar in court. We might also choose to also cross petition because there were many areas we can dispute. In Adamawa state, he had already lost the election before he did some magic that gave him that narrow victory in Adamawa state.

“As I speak, we have the petition that we have written to INEC on how we were rigged out in Akwa Ibom state and it is interesting that it is the PDP that is complaining about rigging in Akwa Ibom state. How do you explain that INEC cancelled so many units in several states in other to be able to declare PDP candidates winners? That was how Senator Akpabio was rigged out in Akwa Ibom state.

” In my local government,  25 units were cancelled due to the carelessness or mischief of the electoral officer deployed. We lost about 5,000 votes in my local government. ”

The APC national chairman also faulted the claim of the PDP presidential candidate that certain foreign investors anxious to invest in Nigeria after the election was already reviewing their position after the declaration of the APC presidential candidate as the winner of the election.

“Atiku also alleged that the economy lost N85 billion on hearing that President Buhari won the election. That is twisting the facts. When Atiku start talking about his irrevocable commitment to privatise and sell NNPC, many people wondered aloud whether he has not already collected deposit, especially when he says even if he was going to die.

“Was he going to rule Nigeria against our will because democracy does not end at voting. Citizens must hold their leaders accountable for their policy choices. So, if those depositors see that it will not be business as usual and decided to take their flight, we don’t even want them to come back. Nigeria needs genuine investors who have faith in our country with long term interest.”