Fayose lied on my meeting with Makinde in Minna — Atiku

His story are beer-parlour tales of infamy, he says

Former vice president Atiku Abubakar said on Thursday that the former governor of Ekiti State, Peter Ayodele Fayose, lied to Nigerians about his (Atiku’s) meeting with the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, at the Minna, Niger State residence of former military president Ibrahim Babangida, on Tuesday.

Atiku, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said that Fayose’s statement on the Minna meeting was a deliberate fabrication, meant to hoodwink Nigerians.

He also declared that the statement amounted to beer-parlour tales, stitched together by the former governor.

“Our attention has been drawn to a reckless and malicious fabrication titled “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday,” Shaibu wrote, adding that the entire publication was a “shameless concoction.”

The statement further read:

“Let it be stated clearly: the entire publication is a shameless concoction – a tissue of lies stitched together by a serial purveyor of political gossip whose relevance survives only on controversy, distortion, and cheap propaganda.

“At no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script.

“There were no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets. There were no discussions about A10 billion contributions. There were no zoning manipulations. There were no delegate-delivery guarantees.

And there is certainly no clandestine “Dubai meeting” on any such agenda.

“The attempt to drag other political actors into this fabricated beer parlour tale does not elevate its credibility; it merely exposes the desperation behind it.

“His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s political engagements are broad-based, principled, and national in scope – not the narrow, transactional theatrics invented in that publication.”

The former vice president stated that Fayose’s story was not insider information, but an insider fiction aimed at misleading Nigerians, provoking them, and distracting the people.

The statement added: “It is unfortunate that certain individuals, long deprived of credibility and political gravitas, now attempt to manufacture relevance by inventing tales around serious national figures.

Falsehood may trend for a moment, but it collapses under the weight of truth.

“Atiku Abubakar does not transact politics in secrecy, bribery, or transactional desperation as mischievously and irresponsibly portrayed. He remains focused on principled engagement and national redemption – not backroom theatrics designed by attention-seekers. We advise the public to treat the publication with the contempt it deserves.”

Former governor Ayo Fayose, in a statement he tagged “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna, Yesterday,” alleged that Governor Seyi Makinde had agreed to run as the running mate to former vice president Atiku Abubakar, while also pledging to donate the sum of N10 billion to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).