Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President has told President Bola Tinubu to tackle Nigeria’s problems and stop interfering in the affairs of opposition political parties.
Atiku said this in a statement signed by Paul Ibe, his Media Adviser in response to Tinubu’s remarks at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja on Thursday.
Tinubu, in his address at the 14th APC NEC meeting had described the opposition coalition of political parties led by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as nothing but a “coalition of confusion”.
The president also appeared to have taken a swipe at the ADC, which has recently enjoyed the support of prominent opposition politicians such as Atiku and Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) flagbearer during the 2023 presidential election.
“It is not a bad idea to abandon a sinking ship and be absent from a coalition of confusion,” Tinubu said, a statement widely viewed by many as an effort to discredit opposition unity and encourage more defections from other political parties to the APC.
Reacting, Atiku hit back at Tinubu, criticizing the president and the APC for allegedly interfering in the affairs of opposition parties, rather than tackle Nigeria’s worsening economic and security problems.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 also accused Tinubu of using government resources and institutions to destabilise opposition parties, describing his actions as a desperate attempt to push Nigeria towards a one-party state.
“President Tinubu should first resolve the visible rift between himself and Vice President Kashim Shettima and fix Nigeria’s broken economy before meddling in the affairs of the ADC,” the statement read.
“It is baffling that the presidency is spending scarce public funds to fuel internal divisions in an attempt to weaken alternative political voices.”
Atiku alleged that the presidency was the brain behind the tensions between his supporters and those of Obi within the opposition coalition, saying the effort had failed.
“We are fully aware that the supposed disagreements between supporters of Atiku and Peter Obi within the coalition were deliberately stirred up by the presidency. Sadly for them, that divisive tactic has failed. The cracks have been mended, and the coalition is now stronger than ever,” the statement added.
Atiku also criticised Tinubu’s administration, saying it is incompetent and out of touch with the real issues affecting Nigerians.
According to him, the APC-led government, is ‘directionless, incompetent, and completely disconnected from the suffering of ordinary Nigerians,’ pointing to the rise in insecurity, hunger, and poverty as signs of failure.
“While Nigerians face growing insecurity, hunger and poverty, Tinubu is busy playing petty politics. He has abandoned governance and is instead obsessed with his 2027 re-election ambitions, even though he has nothing to show for the 2023 mandate,” the statement read.
“Tinubu is now using state institutions, especially anti-corruption agencies, to harass and blackmail opposition leaders into defecting to the APC. But the truth is, Tinubu fears the coalition. He knows it is this coalition that will remove him from office, whether it’s back to Bourdillon or Iragbiji.”
