Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been told that it was too late for him to acquire the character and integrity that he lacked from birth and that no one knew him better than President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom he served as Vice President for eight years.
Lere Olayinka, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and Nyesom Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, was responding to a statement by the Atiku Media Office that character was the reason the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) committee set up to select its Vice Presidential candidate for the 2023 election was rejected.
He stated that one Nigerian who can never be found among men of character and integrity is Atiku, and his boss, Obasanjo, attested to this in his book, My Watch.
Olayinka said, “One of the reasons Wike first rejected Atiku’s offer to have him as his running mate was his not-too-impressive character and integrity rating until he was prevailed upon. And this, Atiku exhibited when he rejected the decision of the committee the party set up to pick his running mate even after telling everyone that the decision of the committee would be binding on him.
“Now, after his lies that he picked his running mate based on the committee report that placed the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as number one were burst, he is now sermonising about character and integrity, which he himself does not have.
“Funny that the same Atiku, whom his boss described as a ‘blatant and shameless liar’, is the one talking about character.
“For the record, Obasanjo said in his book, ‘My Watch’, that ‘What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background, which was somewhat shadowy; his propensity to corruption; his tendency to disloyalty; his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time; a propensity for poor judgement; his belief and reliance on marabouts; his lack of transparency; his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth and national interest for self and selfish interest.’
“Up till today, Atiku has not debunked what his boss said about him.
“Unlike Atiku, Wike does not hide or pretend where he stands on issues. He will not tweet on major issues and rush to delete them. He didn’t pretend about his position on the 2023 election, and he won’t pretend about where he will stand in 2027.
“It is Atiku who should start being truthful and reliable, especially now that he is old, because everything should not be about desperation to be president.”
