[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubaka, has expressed shock that the US Secretary of State, Antony J Blinken, called the president-elect.

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Recall that ahead of the May 29th inauguration, Blinken has told President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the Joe Biden administration is committed to strengthening ties with Nigeria.

This was contained in a statement shared on Blinken’s official Twitter handle and on the website of US government.

“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke this morning with Nigerian President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to emphasize his continued commitment to further strengthening the U.S.-Nigeria relationship with the incoming administration.

“The Secretary noted that the U.S.-Nigeria partnership is built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and that those links should continue to strengthen under President-elect Tinubu’s tenure.

“Secretary Blinken and President-elect Tinubu discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians, continued comprehensive security cooperation, and reforms to support economic growth,” the statement reads.

In his reaction, the PDP candidate stated that such move is contrary to the US government stance on the conduct of the election that produced Tinubu as president.

“I am in disbelief that @SecBlinken called Tinubu, a contradiction to the publicly stated position of the US on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election. This is inconceivable considering that America, as the bastion of democracy, is well briefed on the sham election of February 25. To give legitimacy to the widely acknowledged fraudulent election in Nigeria can be demoralising to citizens who have hedged their bet on democracy and the sanctity of the ballot @StateDept
@POTUS @USinNigeria,” Atiku wrote.