I didn’t lose 2023 election, you stole it – Atiku fires back at Tinubu

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar has insisted that the outcome of the 2023 presidential election was manipulated by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Atiku’s assertion followed an attack on him by the Presidency over his criticism of the President Bola Tinubu’s policies

NEWS DIRECT recalls that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had while lamenting the untold hardship bedeviling citizens, said he would have done better if he emerged as President in the 2023 general elections.

In a swift response, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s media aide, said Nigeria would have been worse off if Atiku had won.

Onanuga mocked Atiku, saying Nigerians rejected him by voting for Tinubu.

Reacting to Onanuga’s outburst, Atiku in a statement on Monday said he did not lose the election.

“Let me emphasize that the citizens who cast their votes in the 2023 presidential election are well aware that I did not lose; rather, we find ourselves in this predicament because the election was criminally stolen from the Nigerian people”, he said.

On the controversial tax reform bills proposed by the President, Atiku said, “We cannot hope to tax our way out of the economic quagmire wrought by these misguided experimental policies of a novice administration.

“Numerous nations, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Monaco (an EU territory with a zero-income tax policy), among many others, have emerged as economic powerhouses by fostering growth through lower taxation.

“Why then are we fixated on inflicting further hardship upon an already struggling populace?

“One can only speculate that Tinubu’s government is anchored to a mere Tea-plan, which can only lead to a T-pain.”