Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that any attempt by Nigerians to elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections would amount to transiting from frying pan to fire.

The PDP candidate, in a press statement on Sunday signed by Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communications, to Atiku, noted that Nigerians must not be deceived by Tinubu’s message of renewed hope, stressing that it is hopelessness in disguise.

“It is less than one week to the election, and expectedly, campaigns have reached fever pitch. But amidst the excitement and tension, voters must guard their hearts jealously as the ruling APC will try to use every subterfuge and stratagem in its manual to deceive them once more. These last days are similar to the end time predicted in the Holy books,” he said.

Atiku added, “Nigerians must not let themselves be deceived by this con-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.”

The former Vice President said that as part of the grand deception, Tinubu, who started his campaign mid last year with a promise to continue with President Muhammadu Buhari’s “impeccable legacy,” has in the last three weeks been promising to reverse them.

Atiku urged Tinubu to make up his mind on whether he was running on Buhari’s legacy or running against it so as not to deceive innocent voters.

He said, “Tinubu says the petrol scarcity and the naira shortage are aimed at scuttling his ambition. Later, he and his acolytes said they were only voicing out against the policy out of sheer concern for the masses. These are people who never muttered a word when students spent 10 months at home in 2020 and eight months at home in 2022 due to unprecedented university lecturers’ strike.

“These are people that never criticised the President at the height of the insecurity when school children were being abducted almost on a daily basis and when the naira witnessed a free fall that led to a sharp increase in the price of goods.

Atiku further stated, “He has been very pugnacious, believing that his bullion vans stashed with old Naira notes can deliver the votes to him.”

“Someone needs to tell Tinubu and his band of APC governors to please give up this irritating ostentatious performance of moral propriety. They are not angry about the naira redesign because they love the masses. They are only angry that their plan to unleash bullion vans on poor Nigerians has been thwarted.”

Atiku said should Tinubu become the president of Nigeria, he will turn the country into his personal fiefdom and a one party state by muzzling the opposition as he had done in Lagos since 1999.

He added that Tinubu would also turn the National Assembly into his foot stool and orchestrate the fall of the 4th Republic.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Civic Engagement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), in Osun State has said that Tinubu stands a better chance to win the election because different groups in the state would vote for him.

Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, the Chairman of the Directorate said this while receiving an award of outstanding performance from the Osun Chapter of the Association of Mobile Telecommunications Engineers of Nigeria (AMTEN), on Sunday in Osogbo.

Oyintiloye said that Tinubu has shown capacity to be elected President of the country, pointing out that from engagements with different groups in the state, it has become clear that the former Lagos State Governor would win the election because he has an edge over other candidates at the polls.

He maintained that as Lagos State Governor, Tinubu deployed effective strategies that improved service delivery and efficiency in the administration of public funds, and urged Nigerians to vote for him for the country to witness real transformation.

“At this critical period in the life of the country, the only person that can bring Nigeria back to the path of glory is Tinubu. It is in the interest of all Nigerians that Tinubu should be elected president due to his track-record in public and private sectors

“He has the experience to tackle the challenges confronting the country and restore hope back to Nigerians. So we urge Nigerians to come out en mass on February 25 to vote for Tinubu and all APC candidates in the interest of better Nigeria,” he said.

He added, “With the door-to-door campaign embarked on by the directorate, APC in the state would deliver massive votes for Tinubu.”

Oyintiloye commended members of the association for the honour done to him, even as he promised to continue to support them.

Rasaki Ejalonibu, the president of the association said that the award was given to Oyintiloye because of his contribution to the development of the group, and promised that members of the association would vote massively for Tinubu and other APC candidates in the general elections.

He noted that despite the scarcity of the new naira notes and hike in fuel price, members of the party are determined to come out en mass to vote for Tinubu.