The Herald reports that Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Bola Tinubu, says Atiku Abubakar is selling false hope to his funders and supporters, who are still disappointed in him for losing the 2023 presidential election.
Recall that Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presented the academic records of President Tinubu as new evidence for consideration in his appeal against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court.
In a deposition he made to the Supreme Court on Friday, Atiku said submitting a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by a candidate is a weighty constitutional matter that the apex court must consider.
Speaking with The Punch on the issue, Temitope Ajayi, accused Atiku of misinforming the public out of desperation and selling lies to galvanize his base.
The Presidential aide said, “What Atiku is doing is simply misinformation out of desperation. He is selling a lie to galvanize his base. He is giving false hope to his funders and supporters.
“We know that he got support from different entities from within and outside Nigeria for his election, and he gave them false hope that he was winning the election.
“Most of his (Abubakar) supporters are disappointed in him that they wasted their money and efforts on him.
“So he’s trying to give those people false hope that he has a chance at the courts. If not, how can he give a different meaning to a deposition to any educated person can understand?
“We’re in the age of alternative truth where people only want to believe the lies they want to believe. And there’s nothing we can do about that. So, Atiku can psyche himself up by giving a psychic victory over nothing. He went to America on a voyage of discovery and came back with nothing.”
Ajayi noted that Atiku has the right to present his case at the Supreme Court, adding that he is trying to intimidate the Judiciary by inciting the citizenry against judges.
He added: “After all, he won’t be the one to decide his own case.
“In fact, just last week, the CJN said the court will not decide tonight on the basis of public opinion but based on the law.
“So, Atiku is trying to intimidate the judiciary and trying to incite Nigerians against the judiciary.”