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John Alechenu, Abuja
The Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organization has advised the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu to take the path of honour by withdrawing from the 2023 Presidential contest in order to avoid certain defeats.

The Atiku Abubakar led -People’s Demo Party Campaign, gave this advice in a statement signed by its Spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, on Monday.

It expressed delight at what it described as Asiwaju’s official concession of electoral superiority of Atiku Abubakar over him.

The PDP campaign said, “Having officially conceded to the political superiority of Atiku Abubakar ahead of the February 25, 2023, Presidential election, our campaign counsels Asiwaju Tinubu to quietly withdraw from the race so as to avoid a humiliating defeat.”

Ologbondiyan noted that by it’s own admission, the Tinubu Campaign had while responding to the results of a recent Nextier Polls, agreed that Atiku enjoys broad-based support nationwide.

He said, “The Atiku/ Okowa Campaign invites Nigerians to note the admission by the Tinubu Campaign, while responding to the recent Nextier Polls, that Atiku Abubakar is well-grounded, more popular than Senator Tinubu and poised for victory in most states of the South East, South-South, South West, North East and other parts of the country.

“While we completely reject and do not recognize the said Nextier Polls as it is unsupported, baseless and unempirical, our Campaign however acknowledges Tinubu Campaign’s submission in its response to Nextier that Adamawa (and by extension the North East) is a stronghold of the PDP Presidential Candidate and described any speculation to the contrary as “ridiculous”.

“Also, our Campaign acknowledges the admission by the Tinubu Campaign that South-South States of Delta, the home State of the PDP Vice Presidential Candidate, Akwa-Ibom, the home State of the Chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Bayelsa, Edo and Rivers States are impregnable strongholds of Atiku Abubakar and the PDP and declare any poll to the contrary as jesting.

“This is also the case in the South East States of Abia, Enugu, Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi which remain strongholds of the PDP with unwavering support for Atiku Abubakar.

“It is also clear that Atiku Abubakar is well grounded and more popular than Tinubu in States of the North West, including Katsina where the APC structure has collapsed into the PDP; Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi where APC members are daily moving in their millions to the PDP due to the overwhelming acceptability of Atiku Abubakar.“

He further noted that “In the same vein, in the North Central, the PDP Presidential Candidate is enjoying overwhelming popularity in Benue, the home State of the PDP National Chairman; Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the FCT where Nigerians have demonstrated their preference for the Atiku Abubakar and the PDP as evidenced in the swelling support base as well as the victory of the PDP in recent sub-national elections.

“Our Campaign also notes that the Tinubu Campaign could not lay claim on the South West, ostensibly given the fact that Atiku Abubakar and the PDP are more popular than Tinubu in South West State of Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun as well as Lagos State where APC Presidential Candidate’s popularity has fatally dipped following the shocking revelations of corrupt looting of the resources and assets of the State.“

The PDP campaign spokesperson further explained that there is no way Nigerians will elect an individual convicted for trafficking in narcotics as the President of our nation.

“This is more so with the recent revelation that the APC and the Tinubu Presidential Campaign are behind the biting cash scarcity that has brought so much hardship and distress to Nigerians.” Ologbondiyan added.