Atiku to Tinubu: You have ‘pattern behaviour’ of ‘not owning up to your actions’

The opposition PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s camp has reacted to his ruling APC counterpart, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s denial on allegation of lobbying Atiku in 2007 to be his Vice-Presidential candidate, firing that APC standard bearer’s action signals “a pattern of behaviour”, of “not owning up to his actions”. 

The reaction was contained in a statement signed by the former Vice President’s Media aide, Paul Ibe, on Sunday in Abuja.

Recall that the first opposition presidential candidate has told his interviewers on Arise TV that the former Lagos State Governor, requested him to make him (Tinubu) his running mate under the platform of the then opposition and defunct Action Congress (AC), an allegation Tinubu unequivocally denied.

The statement which is titled: “Multiple Unconnected Third Parties Corroborate Atiku Abubakar’s Position on Tinubu” read in part: “On the issue of Atiku Abubakar offering to make Bola Tinubu his running mate in 2007, the Waziri says as a statesman, which he believes Asiwaju Bola Tinubu also is, or should be, it is pertinent that they use temperate language at all times. It not only shows that they are seasoned and mature, more importantly, it is a good indicator of fitness for the office. 

“And that is why it is our intention to respond to Asiwaju’s statement on Atiku Abubakar’s Arise TV interview, not in the rather impolite manner that he dealt the PDP presidential candidate, but in measured tones. 

“The major accusation made by Asiwaju Tinubu is that the Waziri Adamawa offered him the opportunity of being his running mate in 2007, which means that the former Vice President was not then mindful of Nigeria’s religious and ethnic diversity, making his statements during the Arise TV interview hypocritical. 

“We would not say that Bola Tinubu has lied. Rather, it is our desire to give him the benefit of the doubt, and believe that his memory may not be what it used to be. 

“Nigerians may want to note that on 14 September, 2005, the then US Consul General, Brian L. Browne, drafted a memo, leaked via Wikileaks, wherein he stated that Bola Tinubu was scheming to be a running mate to either Atiku Abubakar or Muhammadu Buhari. 

“This is further historically corroborated by the subsequent political history of Nigeria. Biographers of President Muhammadu Buhari have variously recounted how Bola Tinubu made the same request of then Presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. 

“In his 2016 AUTHORISED biography of President Muhammadu Buhari titled ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’, Professor John Paden, an American, wrote about the issue as follows:

“Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and political ‘godfather’ of the South-West geopolitical zone, felt he should be the vice-presidential candidate.”

“The above clearly shows a behavioural pattern here. So, if anyone is “unhinged from the truth” (to borrow Asiwaju Tinubu’s words), it certainly is not Atiku Abubakar. 

“In any case, if Bola Tinubu can forget the name of his own political party, why will he not also forget what transpired in 2007 and 2015? We do sympathise with him. 

“The fact remains that in a fragile and ethnically diverse nation, such as ours, religious and ethnic balance must be observed at the highest levels, and from there flow downwards. 

“That is what Atiku Abubakar said during his interview with Arise TV on Thursday, July 21, 2022, and he stands on that principle and will continue to so stand without apology to anyone.

“From the forgoing, it is clear that His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar’s memory and recollection of the event has been corroborated by multiple, independent, and unconnected third parties, and if this were a court of law, this issue would have been regarded as proved beyond reasonable doubt”. 

Ibe who noted that Asiwaju’s response was opposite of Atiku’s “friendly” tone, reminded Nigerians that even though, multiple sources have testified that Bola Tinubu desperately lobbied to be made Buhari’s deputy in a Muslim-Muslim ticket, still, he (Tinubu) denied this on June 22, 2022, and instead accused President Buhari of offering him the position of Vice President. 

“Therefore, we hope this settles the matter, and that cordiality can be expected henceforth from the opposing camp” Atiku posited.