The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s renewed criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying the opposition leader should retire from politics after repeated failures at the polls.
Atiku, 78, who served as Nigeria’s vice president between 1999 and 2007, has contested for the presidency six times under various political platforms, including in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023.
On Monday, September 15, APC spokesman Felix Morka said on Channels Television’s Politics Today that Atiku’s latest comments about worsening hunger in Nigeria were politically motivated.
“Nigerians are watching, I don’t think Nigerians are paying attention to what he says because they know why he says them.
“He is desperate for power. He thinks that by vilifying governments, making false statements that Nigerians will wake up tomorrow and make him President.
“Nigerians have rejected him so many times. I don’t think these Nigerians are considering of making Atiku President.
“He served Nigeria as he did. Today he has become quite frankly irrelevant to any consideration of prosperity to the future of our country,” Morka said.
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Earlier the same day, Atiku had issued a statement warning that rising poverty and hunger under the Tinubu government could fuel unrest if not urgently addressed.
He pointed to historical uprisings such as the French Revolution of 1789, the Russian Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and the Arab Spring as examples of how deprivation and government neglect can trigger social upheaval.
The former vice president also linked Nigeria’s EndSARS protests to economic frustration and poor governance.
“The masses of Nigerians are progressively wallowing in misery and poverty under the watch of the Tinubu-led APC administration,” Atiku said.
He insisted that nearly two years into the current government, there were still “no manifest signs” of improvement in food security or poverty reduction.
“Reforms must have a human face and prioritise citizens’ welfare. Whatever reform the Tinubu government might claim to be undertaking, the point remains that food insecurity is a daily occurrence nationwide,” he added.