Atiku can’t be trusted — Wike’s aide

Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has insisted that former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, lied by claiming that he picked the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election based on report of the committee set up by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to select its Vice Presidential candidate.

This is as he disclosed that it was already too late for the former Vice President to buy character and integrity that he has lacked from birth, and that no one could have known him better than President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom he served as Vice President for eight years.

Olayinka, who reiterated that the FCT Minister was never keen about being Atiku’s running mate because of the enormous baggages he is carrying, and he had no regret, working against him (Atiku) in the 2023 presidential election, described the statement issued by the media office of the two-time PDP presidential candidate as face-saving and “an attempt to use further lies to defend Atiku’s previous lies.”

In a statement in Abuja on Sunday, Olayinka said “report of the committee was released so as to set the records straight, and this has made Atiku and his men to confess that in selecting his running mate, he (Atiku) did not follow the report of the committee set up by the PDP. He simply picked who he wanted, not who the party wanted.

“By saying that ‘there were no laid down rules or laws on the selection process of a running mate. Committees, consultations, and recommendations are advisory in nature. The final decision rests solely and exclusively with the presidential candidate, in this case, Atiku Abubakar. It is a constitutional and strategic choice, not a popularity contest,’ Atiku’s Media Office has confirmed that their principal actually lied and never had any regard for the PDP as a party.

“It therefore gladdens our hearts that we have been able to establish that Atiku lied and he is not a man to be trusted. That he chose to lie during the Holy Month of Ramadan is, however, between him and Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala).

“As for his choice of running mate in 2019 and 2023, it is our position that Atiku, as the PDP candidate had the right to make whatever choice, and he should be able to defend his choice and be honest for once to accept the consequences, not trying to misrepresent facts to justify the choice he made.

“It is also to be reiterated that just as Atiku, the loser in the election, has said he has no regret over the choice he made, Wike too has no regret over his choice.

“Therefore, no one is harboring any personal ill-feeling against Atiku for failing with the choice he made, and no one should also harbour ill-feeling against Wike for succeeding with the choice he made.

“Also, as for us, no ego is bruised, no bitterness too. Just a clear case of we making our choice and you making your own choice. But more than two years later, you are now trying to defend your own choice of failure with lies.

“On the PDP and the task of rebuilding it, it is necessary for Atiku to first come clear as to which party he belongs now, because PDP has not formed a coalition with any political party. Most importantly, his penchant for seeking to contest the presidential election under any available party has remained PDP’s major albatross.”

Olayinka further added that one Nigerian that can never be found in the gathering of men of character and integrity is Atiku, and his boss, Obasanjo, attested to this in his book, ‘My Watch’.

He said: “For the records, 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 is not one that will do a tweet on major issues and rush to delete it. 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, that should start being truthful and reliable, especially now that he is old, because everything should not be about desperation to be president.”

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