Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) presidential campaign council, has urged Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s nominee for president, to withdraw from the race.
Prior to the 2023 presidential election, Keyamo alleged that Atiku had played the ethnic card and should thus withdraw from the contest.
He was responding to Atiku’s statement that in 2023, Nigeria needs a pan-Nigerian president rather than one who is Yoruba or Igbo.
Atiku asked Nigerians to vote for him because he is a pan-Nigerian while speaking in Kaduna on Saturday.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment condemned the comment and accused the PDP presidential candidate of incorporating racism into his campaign.
Keyamo stated in a string of tweets: “This is the height of desperation & daredevilry on Atiku’s part!
Atiku Abubakar’s exploitation of race as a campaigning tool—saying that the North doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate—is so abhorrent, so awful, and so mindless. My God! Atiku must withdraw from the race TODAY!
Instead of following the path of honor and apologizing to Nigerians or resigning honorably from the race, some of his hirelings have pulled out their hammers and nails to try to panel-beat this clear and apparent declaration. No amount of “repackaging” or “panel-beating” will be able to fix this.
