You Are Reckless, Nursing Hangover From Electoral Defeat – Presidency Replies Atiku

The presidency has hit back at Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for calling the President, Bola Tinubu, to step down from office if the shoe is too big for him.

Atiku had on Tuesday morning questioned Tinubu’s capacity to rein in worsening insecurity and sort out a myriad of challenges assaulting the country.

He took exception to the president’s “private visit to France” which he said happened at a time when the country needed him most.

A statement on Tuesday evening by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, conveying the president’s rebuttal mocked the former vice president of suffering from electoral defeat.

While saying he’s on top of the situation, the statement questioned Atiku’s penchant for what he called a “reckless” statement.

The presidency emphasised that the trip to France was in full knowledge of Nigerians who were properly informed.

The statement said, “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s statement accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of fiddling amidst some security and economic challenges is to say the least, reckless.

“Coming days after he made an equally reckless allegation against the President on the crude for loan deal for NNPC Limited, his latest statement fell short of what is expected from an elder statesman,” the statement said.

It emphasised that, “We like to believe that Alhaji Atiku is still nursing the hangover of his electoral defeat and now latches on to any issue to attack President Tinubu.

“President Tinubu did not travel without informing Nigerians of his whereabouts. He announced a private visit to France and announced a return date.

“While in France, President Tinubu has been following developments at home and he is on top of the situation in the country. Today’s inauguration of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum wage bore his imprimatur.

“He is in constant touch with his officials and security chiefs and has directed them to stamp out every form of criminality in the country.

“He has particularly ordered them to apprehend those criminals responsible for the murder of two monarchs in Ekiti State and the kidnapping of some pupils in the state,” the statement said.

The presidency added that, “We are already seeing results with the arrest of over 139 kidnappers around Abuja, Kaduna and Benue States in the last one week. The police Special Intervention Squad (SIS) and DSS have also rescued 154 abducted persons in the last few days.

“Just last week President Tinubu approved N50 billion as Special Fund to address some of the lingering security challenges in the North East where Alhaji Atiku hails from. To cope with the kidnapping challenges in the FCT, President Tinubu also approved funds for the acquisition of equipment to track criminals.

“If Alhaji Atiku is really concerned about security issues and not playing cheap politics, he should have known that President Tinubu is on top of issues and working hard to restore peace to every part of our country.

“Our security agencies are working very hard to bring the security situation under control. President Tinubu is giving them all the necessary support they need to win the battle against criminal elements and secure every inch of our country,” the presidency added.