Peter Obi did not win 2023 presidential election – Atiku
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said Thursday that he believes his former ally turned opponent, Mr. Peter Obi, could not have won Saturday’s presidential election.
Atiku said Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party, could not have gotten the constitutionally required spread needed to be declared president.
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Apart from winning majority votes, a candidate is also expected to get 25 per cent of votes in at least 25 states to be declared the winner of the presidential election.
In his speech, Atiku acknowledged that Mr Obi’s candidacy denied PDP votes from its traditional strongholds in the South-east and South-south regions but said victory in those regions cannot be sufficient for Mr Obi to be declared president.
According to him, Obi left PDP in 2022 when it was obvious he won’t get the party’s ticket. He said his choice of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State was part of his commitment for a balanced ticket after Obi’s exit.
“I would have picked Obi again as my running mate if he was in PDP. But he left for Labour and I can’t stop him. Yes, he took most of our votes in the South East and South South states but that won’t make him president without the North.”
Atiku spoke in Abuja at a press conference where he reiterated his party’s position to reject the results of the presidential election.
Each of the three major candidates, however, won in 12 states while Mr Tinubu was the only one that scored 25 per cent of votes in more than 24 states (he scored it in 30 states), a constitutional requirement to be declared the winner.
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