From Buhari to Tinubu, from frying pan to fire – Atiku

Yesterday, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), implored Nigerians to refrain from electing Bola Tinubu, his All Progressives Congress (APC) opponent. Atiku contended that such a decision would amount to a shift from a bad situation to an even worse one.

This statement was made public through a communication from his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu.

Why the statement?: The statement was issued in response to the rejection by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) Youth Wing, comprising young individuals from the Niger Delta region, of the endorsement of Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, by the national leadership of PANDEF. The youths expressed their disapproval of this decision.

What the youths wanted: The youth wing of PANDEF, in contrast, declared their endorsement of Atiku and Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa as running mates.

Atiku rubs it in: Shaibu conveyed Atiku's assertion that the public should not be misled by Tinubu's optimistic rhetoric, which he labeled as a guise for despair.

“Nigerians must not let themselves to be deceived by this ‘corn-man’ selling renewed hopelessness disguised as renewed hope. Your hope will be stolen from you if he is allowed to govern Nigeria. That, indeed, will be a state of hopelessness – hell on earth, frying pan to fire.”

What you should know: Despite initially vowing to uphold the sterling accomplishments of President Buhari, Tinubu has recently been touting a platform that seeks to undo these achievements.

Atiku gives Tinubu a piece of advice: Atiku has called upon Tinubu to clarify whether he is aligning himself with Buhari's legacy or actively opposing it, in order to avoid deceiving unsuspecting voters.