Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, responded to information about a phone call between Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
We had previously reported that Blinken had given the Nigerian President-elect assurances regarding the U.S. commitment to further solidifying the U.S.-Nigeria relationship during a call with Tinubu on Wednesday.
The Secretary emphasized that the partnership between the United States and Nigeria was established on the basis of common interests and solid inter-ethnic ties, and that relationship should only get stronger under President-elect Tinubu’s leadership.
However, Atiku expressed his surprise at the call in a tweet on Wednesday, claiming it ran counter to the US’s openly stated position on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
He claims that telling people the outcome of the 2023 presidential election may demoralize them.
The US’s position on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election has been publicly stated, so I find it unbelievable that @SecBlinken called Tinubu. Given that America, the center of democracy, is well informed about the fraudulent election of February 25, this is incomprehensible.
“To legitimize the widely recognized fraudulent election in Nigeria can demoralize citizens who have hedged their bet on democracy and the sanctity of the ballot @StateDept @POTUS @USinNigeria,” the statement reads.
