Atiku, Obi’s win in few regions couldn’t have made them president, says Alake
Special Adviser to the President-elect, Dele Alake said it was impossible for presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party to believe they could have won the February 25 presidential election by just winning in some regions in the country.
Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, Alake said only Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) showed that he had enough spread across the country which ensured his victory at the poll.
He also cautioned a section of the international media for their negative remarks on the election.
He said: “We object to the mischaracterisation of the presidential election by a section of the international media.
“Contrary to the innuendos and aspersions being cast on the election by organisations such as Financial Times, Economist, New York Times among others, we make bold to say that the 2023 presidential election is the most credible, most free and most fair national election in Nigeria since 1999.
“The elections into the Senate and House of Representatives were held the same day with the presidential election. They produced an outcome that showed our party winning majority seats in both chambers. None of the presidential candidates assailed the integrity of the National Assembly elections.
“Similarly, the presidential election produced expected outcome.
“Anyone who is honest enough and understands the political landscape of Nigeria and the forces at play in electing a President in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria will know that only Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC could have won the election.
“It must be stressed that only the APC went into the 2023 election intact. Peoples Democratic Party went into the election fragmented into three parts. Five of its Governors under the G5 group worked against their party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. The Labour Party candidate, who was Atiku’s running mate in 2019 abandoned the party. In the North, Rabiu Kwankwaso, also a member of the PDP, went solo with the NNPP.
“These divisions within the main opposition played out in our favour. It was a repeat of 2015, when some PDP states supported the new coalition of parties called APC and gave President Buhari a resounding victory.
“The presidential candidate of PDP at his post-election press conference admitted that the Labour Party swept away his party’s votes from its traditional stronghold in South-East and South-South. He is yet to admit the impact of the rebellion of the G5 governors and Kwankwaso in large voting state of Kano.
“For emphasis, it must be stated that no political party or candidate can win a presidential election in Nigeria without strong support from four of the six geopolitical zones in the country. Only the candidate of APC had such support as shown in the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Mr Obi could not have been elected President by winning in South-South and South-East and the Middle-Belt states of Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Taraba and Nasarawa. He needed the core northern votes from the North-East and North-West. He needed the South West. Winning Lagos narrowly was not enough to make Mr. Obi President.
“These are political realities that have been ignored in post-election reportage by a number of international media.”
