PDP defends Atiku against Tinubu’s attacks

THE Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PPCO) has defended its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar as an established Democrat, noting that the resort to flippancy by President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaigner, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, cannot detract from that fact.

A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by Kola Ologbondiyan National Publicity Secretary and Director, Media & PublicityPDP Presidential Campaign Organisation saidTinubu, in attacking Atiku Abubakar’s state of the nation address, which embodied the concerns, fears and apprehensions of Nigerians over President Buhari’s despotic tendencies, has shown that he has finally turned his back against Nigerians because of pecuniary interests.

The statement added: “We invite Nigerians to note that all the accusations of undemocratic actions alluded to by Asiwaju Tinubu against Atiku Abubakar did not come under Atiku Abubakar’s purview of the decision or his sphere of control while in office as the Vice President of Nigeria.

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“If anything, Atiku Abubakar was in charge of the economy during the period and every Nigerian can testify that, within that time, our economy thrived to be one of the fastest growing in the world and the purchasing power of citizens was much higher than what obtains today.

“It is therefore very pitiable that Asiwaju has become flippant in his desperation to please the cabal and market a bad product that President Buhari has become before Nigerians.

“It is rather unfortunate that while other respected leaders in our country are rallying with the people’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to rescue our nation from the stranglehold of undemocratic forces, Asiwaju is busy dining with such oppressive forces and casting aspersion on respected leaders, to the chagrin of Nigerians across the board.”

The PPCO challenged Tinubu to list a single attribute of President Buhari that qualifies him as a Democrat.

“By supporting President Buhari, Asiwaju has exposed his support for nepotism, hunger, insecurity, violation of human rights, constitutional breaches, attacks on democratic institutions, disobedience of court orders, arbitrary arrests, illegal detention, low purchasing power of citizens as well as other vices by which the Buhari administration is known,” the statement said.