Opaque budget: Insulting me won’t save you, Atiku knocks Tinubu

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar

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By Omeiza Ajayi

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the Presidency’s latest statement attacking his person as further proof that the Bola Tinubu administration has chosen diversion over disclosure and insults over accountability.

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In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said it was telling that the Presidency devoted several paragraphs to personal attacks without addressing the fundamental issues that continue to generate legitimate public interest.

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“When governments abandon facts for insults and substitute evidence with abuse, they unwittingly admit that they have run out of convincing answers. Nigerians expected clarification. What they received instead was a barrage of name-calling and political invective,” he said.

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The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, noted that raising questions about matters contained in public records should never be misconstrued as an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty.

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He said no one has reported Nigeria to anyone and that Nigeria is not on trial.

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“The issue concerns questions arising from publicly available records relating to the occupant of the nation’s highest office. Those records were not created by the opposition, the ADC, or any political actor. Attempting to silence legitimate public inquiry by wrapping oneself in the national flag does not answer the questions before the country,” he said.

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The former Vice President said it was particularly unfortunate that the Presidency chose to revive old political allegations against him instead of responding directly to the issues it was confronted with.

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Atiku further observed the irony of an administration that actively seeks foreign investments, foreign loans, favourable international ratings, and global endorsements suddenly portraying international scrutiny as an assault on Nigeria’s independence.

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He also dismissed the argument that electoral victory automatically settles every question concerning public accountability.

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Atiku urged the Presidency to abandon its combative posture and provide Nigerians with clear, factual responses instead of inflammatory rhetoric.

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The former Vice President maintained that history has consistently shown that confident governments respond to scrutiny with openness rather than hostility.

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He said Nigerians wanted to know whether their President forfeited money to the government of the United States of America on account of drug-related offences, insisting that no amount of outrage or personal attacks would silence legitimate public inquiry until those questions were addressed with facts.

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“The Nigerian people deserve answers, not insults. They deserve transparency, not diversion. Until those questions are addressed with facts, no amount of outrage or personal attacks will silence legitimate public inquiry,” Atiku said.

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