APC labels Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai’s criticism as pitiful; says PDP is disintegrating

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described recent criticisms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai as “pitiful and desperate.”

In a statement, the APC asserted that the attacks from the trio reflected a lack of constructive opposition, claiming they were aimed at undermining the administration’s efforts to address national challenges.

APC in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja said like a badly broken record, Atiku has continued to point fingers at it “for the festering rot in his party, and the spectacular dysfunction of opposition parties generally”.

The ruling party also dismissed allegations by Atiku that it was paying the sum of N50 million to some opposition leaders in order to weaken the opposition.

“The bizarre suggestion by opposition figures like Atiku, Peter Obi, and recently, aggrieved leaders like Mallam Nasir El-Rufai that our great Party may be complicit in the internal corrosion of opposition parties is pitiful, and only an incompetent alibi for their crass failure to manage their own affairs. They cannot govern their parties but tout their ability to govern Africa’s most populous country”, said APC spokesman, Felix Morka.

At the national conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria held in Abuja on Monday, Atiku had reportedly warned that the nation’s democracy was somewhat imperiled by judicial involvement in electoral matters.

“Also, without a shred of evidence, Atiku alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was paying certain opposition leaders a whooping 50 Million Naira each to discombobulate opposition parties in the country.

“It was in the Atiku era as Vice President, particularly in 2003 and 2007, that the PDP conducted the worst elections in our political history. We cannot possibly forget how Atiku’s PDP heavy-handedly captured most South-West states and vowed to remain in power for 60 years. It was in those same years that Atiku’s former boss and then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, infamously described election as a “do or die affair” in a desperate attempt to annex Lagos. If democracy was neither derailed nor endangered in those perilous days, is it now that elections are by far freer, fairer and more credible that Nigeria risks losing democracy?

“It is a thing of irony that Atiku, who is Nigeria’s most prolific electoral litigator, would make such a ludicrous claim that judicial involvement in electoral matters is a threat to democracy. His criticism of the courts and the electoral process rings hollow given his long history of using the courts to further his political agenda. It’s time for him to take a step back and let the democratic process unfold without his interference”, APC said.

APC said Nigeria’s democracy is far stronger than Atiku’s political ambitions.

“We deserve better than petty politicking and alarmist rhetoric from an elder statesman. As a veteran politician, one would expect Atiku to understand that while democracy may be about winning election, it is, more importantly, about respecting the will of the electorate and working towards the greater good of all. Atiku should focus on rebuilding his party and offering constructive solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.

“Atiku’s allegation that the APC-led administration was paying out 50 Million Naira to some opposition figures is simply bogus and laughable. Atiku knows that his political desperation is responsible for the PDP’s catastrophic disintegration. Peddling rumors and unsubstantiated allegations should be beneath anyone in the standing of an elder statesman, a former Vice President and a serial contestant for the exalted office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, the party added.