DEFECTIONS: Atiku says Tinubu has no achievements to stand on, defends political alliances
*As he speaks on, Okowa, PDP governor's defections *Slams critics on "politics of selective outrage" as PDP leaders allying with Tinubu haven't been so criticised *Says his visits to Buhari well justified *Coalition dead on arrival - Tinubu's aides *Looming political contest battle between Nigerians and a “failed administration - Atiku *Says Tinubu's only strategy is chaos and division, the "last refuge of the incompetent" *An incompetent captain does not only wreck his ship; he endangers the lives of everyone on board - Former Vice President *Any coalition without adequate plan to take Lagos will continue to have national economy sabotaged under future leader - Supporters
By KEMI KASUMU
“Any coalition to rescue Nigeria from Tinubu without making adequate plan to free Lagos State from his grip can only make the country to remain the same even if a saint is produced as next president. You cannot allow Tinubu to continue to control economy nerve centre of Nigeria and your future government will not be sabotaged. Take note.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed criticisms over his recent political engagements and defended the right of politicians to associate freely.
The former number two leader said this even as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reels from a wave of defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), including the high-profile exit of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, his running mate in the last general elections.
In a statement issued on Friday, Atiku said he had been “overwhelmed with inquiries from concerned Nigerians” eager to understand his stance on the ongoing political shifts.
“Freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy, they are fundamental rights,” Atiku declared.
He added that, “Defections, alliances, and realignments are part and parcel of democratic politics. We’ve seen them before, and we’ll see them again.”
Atiku, who has come under criticism for visiting former President Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna, defended the move and accused his detractors of hypocrisy.
“Some have resorted to insults because I visited former President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.
Slamming his critics, who are mainly from APC and believably from Tinubu’s government Alhaji Atiku warned with a strong query, “Let’s not rewrite history: Buhari is not only a former leader but a significant statesman in the Nigerian political landscape. During the 2013 opposition merger, the leaders of the time consulted widely, including visits to Obasanjo and Babangida. So why is it now sacrilegious for me and other leaders to visit Buhari in Kaduna?”
He further slammed what he described as the “politics of selective outrage,” noting that PDP leaders have been engaging President Bola Tinubu without similar backlash.
“When PDP leaders are busy sipping tea and brokering power deals with President Tinubu, it’s called strategic alliance. But the moment I greet Peter Obi, el-Rufai, or visit Buhari, it becomes a national emergency,” Atiku said. “Hypocrisy and the politics of selective outrage have never been this fashionable!”
The former vice president reframed the looming political contest as a battle not between political parties, but between Nigerians and what he termed a “failed administration.”
“The coming political battle is not APC versus PDP, or LP versus APC. It is Nigerians versus an administration that has plunged the nation into untold suffering,” Atiku declared.
He said, “The economy is in freefall. Inflation is choking the masses. Jobs are vanishing. Youth restiveness is surging to terrifying levels. Nigerians are not just tired, they are angry, and rightfully so.”
Atiku’s remarks come amid intensified political realignments following the defection of key PDP figures to the APC, a move that Tinubu’s aides have mocked as a death knell for Atiku’s 2027 presidential ambition.
Presidential aides Tunde Rahman and Bayo Onanuga had earlier taunted Atiku, describing him as a “loser again” and claiming that his coalition plans were “dead on arrival.”
In a direct attack on the Tinubu government, Atiku accused the administration of fueling division to distract from its failures.
“The Tinubu administration has no achievements to stand on, no credible record to defend. Its only strategy is chaos and division, because that’s the last refuge of the incompetent,” he charged. “An incompetent captain does not only wreck his ship; he endangers the lives of everyone on board.”
In the meantime, some Nigerians supportive of the ongoing coalition ahead of 2027 have called in the likes of Atiku, Nasir El-Rufai and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to factor the future of Lagos State politics in their plans as, according to one of them on anonymity, “Any coalition to rescue Nigeria from Tinubu without making adequate plan to free Lagos State from his grip can only make the country to remain the same even if a saint is produced as next president. You cannot allow Tinubu to continue to control economy nerve centre of Nigeria and your future government will not be sabotaged. Take note.”
