Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has rejected Saturday’s presidential election results, saying the exercise was the “worst in the history of the country.”

Mr Abubakar, who addressed journalists in Abuja Thursday evening, revealed that the outcome of the election, which favoured Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), would be challenged in court. 

“I have come to the conclusion that the process of the election was grossly manipulated…it is the worst in the history of our country’s democracy and the results must be challenged in court,” Mr Abubakar declared. 

Mr Abubakar also called Mr Tinubu a drug baron.

“Just as I was about to enter this conference hall, the chairman and I read an Austrian news report that a Nigerian drug baron has emerged the president of Africa’s most-populous country,” he said at the press briefing, which was his first since the exercise.

Mr Abubakar’s address comes a few hours after Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), also rejected the weekend exercise.

Mr Obi specifically said that the election exercise was “marred with irregularities”, stressing that he won the presidential election and would provide the evidence for Nigerians to see.

“We won the election, and we will prove it to Nigerians,” Mr Obi told reporters during a world press conference held in Abuja.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Wednesday, declared Mr Tinubu the winner of Saturday’s presidential election after he polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat Mr Abubakar.

Mr Abubakar scored 6,984,520 votes to come second, while Mr Obi came third after polling 6,101,533 votes.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, also subsequently issued Mr Tinubu a “Certificate of Return” the same day.