Vanguard
By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja
Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has again knocked the standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who he described as thriving in bigotry.
According to him, Atiku had in 2007 promised him the vice presidential ticket, adding that the former vice president also used the same deception on Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike who he promised the vice presidential ticket after the PDP primary election.
He recalled how Atiku had fought vigorously in 1993 to become the running mate to the late Chief MKO Abiola after losing the presidential ticket to the deceased.
Tinubu had earlier on Saturday issued a statement through his campaign organization, accusing Atiku of high level desperation to become Nigeria’s president.
However, in another statement issued Saturday evening by his Media Office and signed by Tunde Rahman, the APC candidate said “all Nigerians should feel great pity and sadness for the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar”.
He said Atiku in a desperate attempt to win the election by stoking religious bias, has reduced himself to uttering baseless lies on national television.
Atiku had on Friday featured on Arise Television where he said Tinubu ditched him in 2007 because he (Atiku) was opposed to having a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“We are saddened to see such a man become unhinged from the truth. So obsessed is he with his quest for office, Atiku is willing to render any form of untruth if he thinks it might gain him a single vote. Atiku may want to be president. However, all he has shown is that he is a pathological liar, ” the APC presidential candidate said.
According to him, “whatever moral compass he (Atiku) had has been lost. During a 22nd July television interview, Atiku assaulted historic truth by lying that he did not name Tinubu as his running mate in 2007 on the Action Congress ticket because Atiku did not want a Muslim as his running mate.”
Tinubu recalled that Atiku was not among those who founded the defunct Action Congress.
“It was the actual founders of the AC who offered the party’s flag to Atiku because of the need to fight the authoritarian designs then President Obasanjo and the PDP had on Nigeria’s democracy.
“At that moment, Atiku had been unceremoniously pushed aside if not out of the PDP by Obasanjo. We needed to rally all forces to confront the one-party state Obasanjo had in mind. Atiku was simply a beneficiary of this collective duty to fight the attack on multi-party democracy the PDP had launched.
“I feel sorry for dear old Atiku. Love of his own ambition has eclipsed his relationship with the truth and an honest account of the past. We formed the AC without his knowledge. When President Obasanjo virtually exiled him from the PDP, we lent him our support by giving him the AC platform for the 2007 election.
“Let me say openly that Atiku offered me the vice presidential ticket in 2007. Let me also say that my religion has not changed. When he offered the position to me, I was a Muslim and I believe he was aware of my religious faith at the time…
