The Peoples Democratic Party has demanded the withdrawal of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, from the 2023 contest over his alleged involvement in electoral malfeasance and the hiring of fake clergymen to hoodwink Nigerians.

At a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, said this while stating the party’s position.

According to him, the PDP is appalled by the nauseating, blasphemous and unpardonable act by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in hiring street artisans, fraudsters, and touts and criminally dressing them in bishop’s vestments to orchestrate an endorsement for its collapsing presidential campaign.

He said the party condemns in the strongest possible term, the profane and highly provocative act of desperation by the sinking APC Presidential Candidate, in the face of the APC’s collapsing leadership, membership and followership structure across the country.

Ologunagba further said, “Nigerians were sickened by videos and pictorial evidence of known mechanics, bus conductors, and fraudsters sacrilegiously being dressed in fake bishop's vestments and paid to endorse the unveiling of Asiwaju Tinubu’s widely rejected running mate, Sen. Kashim Shettima."

“Such action is unacceptable and unbecoming of any individual aspiring to a leadership position at any level, let alone the office of the President. This is an embarrassment to leadership.

“With this scandalous act, Asiwaju Tinubu, who is still battling with issues of alleged perjury, non-existent certificates and allegations of extortion, has become more ethically challenged and lost all moral standing to seek election as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

More sickening is the outcry by the hirelings that they were defrauded by agents of the APC Presidential candidate, who paid them sums ranging from N30,000 to N40,000 as against the N100,000 they were earlier promised.

“It is therefore ludicrous that instead of being remorseful and asking for forgiveness, the APC Presidential Campaign is shamelessly posting lame denials and excuses in the face of hard and verified evidence of its involvement in the shameless venture."

The PDP Spokesperson further said, “Our Party is not surprised by the attitude of the APC Presidential Campaign." This is consistent with the character and DNA of the APC, which was never a political party but a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) hurriedly put together by conflicting bed-fellows and inchoate sailors clobbered together for remote personal gain and whose only interest is to defraud Nigerians through falsehood, lies, deceit, bribery, temporary loyalty purchase, corruption of established institutions, and violation of set rules without regard to the feelings, sensibilities, and wellbeing of Nigerians.