Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar berated President Bola Tinubu for his seeming failure to tame the armed groups on rampage across the country.
Nigerians are feeling more unsafe as frequent killings and kidnappings for ransom have continued to be on the rise despite heavy assurances from the authorities to stem the tide.
“Tinubu is playing fiddle while Nigeria is drowning in the ocean of insecurity,” Abubakar said in a post on X on Tuesday.
The presidential aspirant during last year’s general election wondered why President Tinubu would embark on a “private visit” to France while enormous security challenges are sinking Nigeria.
“Nigeria does not need another Tourist-in-Chief,” Abubakar stated forthrightly.
He asked Tinubu to “step aside” if the responsibility of the office of the president was too big for him.
“The country needs 24/7 leadership to confront the pervasive insecurity and collapsing economy,” he added.
Tinubu is playing fiddle while Nigeria is drowning in the ocean of insecurity. To imagine that the Commander-in-Chief is on a so-called private visit while kidnappers kill a nursing mother and grandmother in Abuja for failing to pay N90m ransom and two monarchs in Ekiti, among…
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) January 30, 2024
Meanwhile, President Tinubu’s spokesman Bayo Onanuga has described Atiku’s utterances as “reckless”, saying he was attacking President Tinubu because he is still “nursing the hangover of his electoral defeat.”
Onanuga said the President, despite his absence, “is on top of issues and working hard to restore peace to every part of our country.”
“While in France, President Tinubu has been following developments at home and he is on top of the situation in the country,” his statement said.
“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.”
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
President Tinubu on top of domestic situation:
RESPONSE TO ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s statement accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of fiddling amidst some security and economic challenges is to say the least, reckless.
Coming… pic.twitter.com/A7u4btbExd
— Bayo Onanuga (@aonanuga1956) January 30, 2024
