By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA—FOR the umpteenth time, the Presidency has tongue-lashed the former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, urging him to jettison politics of distraction and fantasies and focus on constructive discourse.

The Presidency also described Atiku’s critiques of President Bola Tinubu’s presidency as mere harebrained propositions devoid of realistic alternatives.

The Presidency in a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said it was time Atiku Abubakar abandoned his politics of fantasies and focus on constructive discourse.”

According to the statement, “Since his defeat in the last election, former Vice President Abubakar has shown more interest in undermining President Tinubu than in addressing his party’s implosion. We suspect he is envious of Tinubu’s position an office he has unsuccessfully sought six times.

“It is perplexing that he would elevate his untested, hypothetical proposal, which Nigerians soundly rejected during the 2023 presidential election, and seek to present it as a superior alternative to the multi-faceted reform programmes implemented by the Tinubu administration.

“If his plan lacked popular appeal, he must acknowledge that merely repackaging it will not resolve the social and economic challenges his PDP bequeathed after 16 years in power.

“Atiku’s economic analysis demonstrates a significant misunderstanding of Nigeria’s realities. His narrative, ‘What We Would Have Done Differently,’ indicates an inability to engage with the pressing economic realities being revitalised multidimensionally under President Tinubu’s leadership.

“What reforms would Atiku propose at the onset of his hypothetical and fabled presidency? While he suggests a consultation period upon assuming office, the reality is that the Nigerian economy requires immediate and decisive action. A leader must be prepared to tackle challenges from day one, as President Tinubu has done.

“Atiku, going further to accuse President Tinubu of ‘stealing his presidency,’ exposed his sense of entitlement and his disconnect from the electorate. The truth is that Tinubu rightfully won the presidency, a position Atiku was simply unqualified for due to his arrogance, insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity, and the decision to disregard his party’s power rotation arrangement between the North and the South after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Atiku’s idea of a consultation period upon entering office shows a troubling lack of awareness regarding the state of the economy, which was in dire need of urgent action.

“The Tinubu administration came prepared with a firm action plan to address the shortcomings that persisted during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s time when Atiku was vice president.

“We can only speculate what detrimental impact Atiku’s proposed lengthy town hall and Village Square meetings would have had on Nigeria’s economy if he had been elected president and taken such an approach. The country needed a proactive leader such as Tinubu, who immediately set to work on addressing economic challenges rather than one who would have squandered precious time on consultations and a questionable privatisation agenda.”