*Asks him to stop playing on Nigerians’ intelligence
The presidential candidate of the rulling All Progressives Congress(APC),Bola Tinubu has called on his counterpart in the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar to explain to Nigerians’ his current status of heath rather than playing on their intelligence.
This was as Tinubu also asked Atiku to give account on the corruption cases levied against him by Michael Achimugu,a media consultant to Atiku.
The former Lagos State governor made the call in a statement by the Director, Media and Publicity of his campaign,Bayo Onanuga which was made available to NPO Reports on Wednesday
He noted that if the former vice-president has some modicum of honour,he ought to have stepped down from the race that’s he is bound to lose again following the release of his audio clip by Achimugu which provided a vivid explanation into the “modus operandi” of his legendary corruption.
“It is time for Atiku Abubakar, the 76-year-old presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to come clean over two issues clouding his campaign: his health status and his scandalous confession of how he colluded with his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to fleece the Nigerian treasury, using the special purpose vehicles after he became Vice-President in 1999.
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“If Atiku has some modicum of honour,he ought to have stepped down from the race that he is bound to lose again,following the release of his audio clip, in which he provides a vivid explanation of the modus operandi of his legendary corruption.
“So far, there has been no notable response from Atiku’s camp about the disturbing revelation, except for a futile attempt to disown the whistle-blower, Michael Achimugu, a media consultant to Atiku,” he said
Tinubu, however, said that Nigerians are appalled that Atiku and PDP are so shameless that they have shrugged off the bombshell.
“We implore Nigerians, however, to hold Atiku to account over the shocking revelation by rejecting him at the polls in February,”he urged
On the issue of Atiku’s health,Tinubu said Nigerians should be solely worried adding that the campaign of lies adopted by Atiku and his hirelings for years and the politics of diversionary tactics are no longer sustainable
He said: “Atiku is also not talking about his health status even when his hirelings daily make futile attempts to divert public attention to his main rival by cooking up lies upon lies.Whereas Atiku is the candidate that Nigerians should be sorely worried about.
“The lies of several years and the various diversionary tactics are no longer sustainable. Atiku’s edifice of lies is about to crash on him. The PDP presidential candidate is certainly not okay, the papering efforts notwithstanding.
“Eyebrows were raised when Atiku did not return to the country after the December holidays to continue his lacklustre and faltering fifth campaign for Nigeria’s presidency.
“Amid the concern by political watchers that Atiku was missing from 21 December 2022 on the field of electioneering campaign, came the story by an online platform that Atiku was flown to the UK from his usual home in Dubai to London for treatment.
“The story has not been vigorously denied.
Stressing further,”We have it on good authority that Atiku indeed fell ill, while missing on the field. He was indeed in the UK for some medical help, though handlers camouflage that he was there on the invitation of some British officials at Whitehall, in a mimic of the earlier visit of the APC rival, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Despite the efforts by his handlers to showcase Atiku as healthy and physically fit to endure the rigours of the presidential campaign, pictures from rallies have belied this.
“Campaign pictures sometimes showed him being helped to descend steps at stadia. Sometimes, he walked with an apparent handicap, dragging his feet.”
According to him, the irrefutable insight into Atiku’s health status as revealed by his divorced wife, Jennifer Douglas, last year that PDP standard bearer was admitted to a German hospital for an operation, amid their bitter divorce.
The statement referenced a viral letter published in February 2022 wherein Jennifer reportedly quoted Atiku’s self-admission that he was in Germany for medicals, which explained why he was unable to retrieve his belongings from a Dubai house that Jennifer had taken over.
“I hear you have moved to Dubai to take over the house. I am still in Germany for my medicals. Make sure all my properties including (redacted) are intact so I can collect all my properties. I wish you well,”Jennifer, according to the statement, quoted Atiku as saying.
“She then responded to him: ‘Excellency, I am left with no other option as we need to get on with our lives amicably. I hope your medicals are coming up well. I wish you well too’.
“A man who wants to rule Nigeria and wants Nigerians to repose some trust in him must immediately and honestly address these twin issues: his health and his legendary corruption,”Tinubu advised