Begging Joe Biden, shopping for endorsements, an act of desperation - Atiku tells Tinubu

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called out the presidential campaign of president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu for shopping for endorsements and begging United States President, Joe Biden, to call to congratulate Bola Tinubu.

This come after Femi Fani-Kayode, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Twitter called on US President Joe Biden to congratulate Tinubu despite the fact that the US State Department had congratulated Tinubu.

According to him, the US and Nigeria share a historical relationship.

In a statement sent on Thursday, March 16, Atiku’s special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, said Fani-Kayode’s remarks were evidence of desperation.

Shaibu described Fani-Kayode’s action as appalling, adding that Tinubu and his team have been desperate for foreign recognition.

Part of the statement read: “After being the beneficiary of the worst and most fraudulent election in the history of Nigeria, Tinubu and his ilk are now running from pillar to post, begging western powers to recognise Tinubu. This is the height of desperation.

“It is reminiscent of the Sani Abacha days when the maximum ruler tried to ingratiate himself with the West after refusing to recognise MKO Abiola as the winner of the June 12 election and deciding to seize power over a people that did not want him.

“Even the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, stated expressly that Nigeria’s election was below the expectation of Nigerians. “Several credible media houses locally and internationally, as well as EU observers, have all questioned the credibility of this election.

Yet, Tinubu and his ilk want a stamp of approval on it? What a joke!” Shaibu noted that even Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London, in an analysis by one of its fellows, said the February 25 presidential election showed that the Independent National Electoral Commission failed to learn new lessons.

He advised Tinubu’s campaign team to save their strength for the legal challenge in the coming weeks rather than beg the US President for recognition.