On Friday, Nigerians on social media criticized Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party, for saying that 90% of people in the north do not use social media.

In an exclusive interview with Arise TV on Friday morning, former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku, responded to a question by downplaying the likelihood that Peter Obi, the nominee of the Labour Party, will upset his bid for the presidency.

When asked about the potential threat that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, might pose to his bid for the presidency in the 2023 elections, Atiku clarified that Obi’s social media popularity and presence won’t bring him (Obi) victory.

He noted that despite the social media sensation and acceptability of Obi’s candidacy, the reality remains that the LP does not have people in government or the National Assembly.

He said, “Peter Obi is not a threat." I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take as many votes from the PDP as people are suggesting. We could have seen it in the last election in Osun State. What was the performance of the Labour Party?

“They again, they (Obi’s supporters) are talking about social media. "Mind you, in the north, 90 per cent of our people (who will be voting) are not on social media,” Atiku said.

But reacting to Atiku’s claim, Nigerians on the microblogging site, Twitter, knocked the former vice president for his comment, alleging that such a claim showed that the Northern elites were deliberate about keeping the region underdeveloped.