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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The presidency has criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, over his comments on President Bola Tinubu.
Recall that Atiku had on Tuesday accused Tinubu of playing fiddle amidst the ongoing security and economic challenges in the country.
The former vice president also asked Tinubu to step aside If the “shoes are too big for Emilokan.”
But a statement issued on Tuesday evening by the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Atiku’s comments as 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.
“We like to believe that Alhaji Atiku is still not nursing hangover of his electoral defeat and now latches on any issue to attack President Tinubu,” he said.
Onanuga said Tinubu did not travel without informing Nigerians of his whereabout, adding that the president 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.
“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 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,” the presidential aide said.
Onanuga added that if Atiku is really concerned about security issues and not playing cheap politics, he should have known that Tinubu is on top of issues and working hard to restore peace to every part of the 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,” he said.