The Presidency has described as “reckless,” a statement by ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar calling for the resignation of President Bola Tinubu over rising killings and kidnappings in Nigeria.
Abubakar had in his statement said President is not working to resolve the economic and security challenges facing the nation.
In a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said contrary to Atiku’s claims, Tinubu is on top of the security situation in Nigeria.
The Presidency accused Abubakar of pretending not to see the many efforts President Tinubu is putting in to achieve peace and prosperity, saying “he’s deploying cheap politics on national issues.
“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.”
The Presidency further said; “President Tinubu did not travel without informing Nigerians of his whereabout. He 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,” It stated.
The President said; “Just last week President Tinubu approved N50b 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.
“If Alhaji Atiku is really concerned about security issues and not playing cheap politics, he should have known that President Tinubu is on top of issues and working hard to restore peace to every part of our 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.”
Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s Vice President from May 1999 to May 2007, was one of President Tinubu’s main challengers in the 2023 presidential poll. He scored 6,984,520 votes to come second with President Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, winning the election with 8,794,726 votes.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
