The All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched a new attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, citing former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s appraisal of the African Democratic Party’s 2027 presidential candidate.
Based on Obasanjo’s remarks against Atiku, the ruling party cautioned Nigerians against handing the former vice president another leadership opportunity.
In an interview, APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru stated that Obasanjo spoke from a position of knowledge concerning Atiku.
However, Atiku vowed that Obasanjo’s outburst against him would not prevent him from winning the 2027 presidential election and urged the former president to be noble in his acts.
Atiku accused Obasanjo of being motivated by resentment over the failure of his contentious third-term ambition and attempting to rewrite the country’s political history.
On Friday, Obasanjo called his decision to choose Atiku as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election his biggest blunder.
The former president, speaking in Lagos at a fireside chat with renowned entertainer and activist Charles Oputa, also known as Charly Boy, stated, “The man I chose as my running partner, my number two. If I knew him as I did afterward, I would not have chosen him.”
Friday’s remark was another outburst from Obasanjo, who has regularly criticised his former deputy since they left office in 2007.
Ehad knew while in office afterwards, from 2000 to 2007, Obasanjo and Atiku had a strained relationship, prompting Adamawa’s Waziri to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party to the Action Congress in 2006.
Basiru responded to Obasanjo’s statements by describing Atiku as a serial defector, saying it was the hallmark of an “unserious politician” and mirrored the former president’s traits.
Basiru said, “Obasanjo has said so many things about Atiku, and he is in a position to know who the former vice president is.
“Obasanjo’s comments are a warning to Nigerians. So, no serious Nigerian should take Atiku seriously or give him another leadership opportunity. Obasanjo has said Atiku was corrupt, disloyal and many other things.
“In any event, Obasanjo is not supporting the APC; he is supporting the other people. But his statement about Atiku is from a position of knowledge because he knows him very well. So, in the interest of the country, no Nigerian should take Atiku seriously.”
However, Atiku stated that Obasanjo’s attacks against him would not affect his chances in 2027.
Speaking with the press through his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said Obasanjo had exposed himself to Nigerians as a hypocrite.
He said, “How will it affect his chances? The election will be determined by Nigerians. In all these shenanigans, do you observe that Atiku has not, as a person, responded directly to Obasanjo? He will not.
“Obasanjo is trying to muddy the waters, and when he finishes all these vindictive politics, Nigerians are the ones who will make decisions about Atiku, not Obasanjo. Interestingly, Nigerians have come to see who the former president is; he is very hypocritical.
“All he has said will not affect Atiku’s chances in 2027. Why would it? He is a former president, but people know him for who he is, and he has only one vote.”
Speaking on if the outburst was intended to favour any presidential candidate, Ibe said Obasanjo was entitled to support anybody but advised the former president to be noble in his actions.
“He can do as much as he possibly can, and Nigerians have come to see exactly what this is all about. Whatever it is, he is not doing a noble thing.
“A man worked with you and did a fantastic job. You might have disagreed in principle. But that is not a reason for you, 20 years later, to continue talking about this man every day,” he added.
Despite the outburst, Ibe stated that Atiku had never regretted working with Obasanjo, asking the former president to rise above board.
“Maybe Atiku didn’t even know him well, but did he regret working with him? No! At what point did Obasanjo realise that Atiku was a bad person? Was it after they left government? Was it because of the failed third-term agenda? He should stop all this nonsense.
“He (Obasanjo) will try as much as possible, but minds are made up. Nigerians have come to the realisation that they cannot continue on this path with President Bola Tinubu, and they are the determinants of the election,” Ibe stated.
In a previous statement, Atiku’s senior special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, stated that Obasanjo’s words were not only disheartening but also revealed “the disposition of a man who has allowed personal resentment to cloud historical truth”.
He insisted that he had no regrets over opposing the unsuccessful constitutional amendment that tried to extend Obasanjo’s tenure beyond the constitutionally allowed two terms, claiming that preserving the country’s democracy was one of his greatest political actions.
“If Chief Obasanjo’s bitterness stems from my refusal to support an unconstitutional third term, then I wear that resentment as a badge of honour. No individual, regardless of his status or accomplishments, is bigger than the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Constitution is supreme, and I chose Nigeria over personal loyalty,” he declared.
Atiku contended that the fight against the third-term agenda was not a personal conflict between him and Obasanjo, but rather a watershed point in Nigeria’s democratic history.
The ADC presidential candidate further noted that Obasanjo’s latest critique came just a day after the director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, publicly praised the economic management team he oversaw during the Obasanjo administration.
According to Atiku, while renowned Nigerians continue to recognise his contributions to the country’s economic reforms, Obasanjo appears intent to downplay those accomplishments.
