Be Wary of Atiku’s ‘sugar-coated’ promises, APC warns Nigerians

On Sunday, the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council urged Nigerians not to believe the “sugar-coated” pledges made by Atiku Abubakar, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. The former vice president was also accused by the ruling APC party of making a last-ditch effort to seize power.

This incident occurs just 24 hours after Atiku promised to properly provide Abuja natives all of their privileges and appointments should he be elected president. Atiku made the promise during the PDP presidential rally held in Abuja on Saturday. He also promised to safeguard the ambitions of the Abuja people in a revised constitution.

The APC presidential campaign committee, however, objected to the proposed change and cautioned that Atiku was working too hard to fool the electorate with hollow promises. This information was released in a statement made on Sunday in Abuja by Bayo Onanuga, the APC’s director of media and publicity.

Onanuga made fun of the fact that a party that ought to be forever ashamed of its dismal track record of leadership between 1999 and 2015 is busy trying to rewrite history and glorify the “locust years” as if they were a heyday in Nigerian history.

“Of course, this is fake history at its worse,” he said. “We are not fooled. Nigerians should also not be fooled by the boldfaced lies, being articulated by the candidate and his party. 

“We need to warn Nigerians to be wary of the sugar-coated promises of former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and his Peoples Democratic Party as they embark on their inordinate and desperate campaign to gain power at all cost.

“What is more shocking is Atiku’s audacity in standing up to ask for our votes despite what his boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote about him in his book, ‘My Watch’. Obasanjo wrote that it would have been an unpardonable mistake “and sin against God to foist him on Nigeria”. Obasanjo still believes so till tomorrow.

“Obasanjo still rues till today making Atiku his vice president in 1999, only to discover later, “his shadowy parentage, his propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgment, his belief and reliance on marabouts, his lack of transparency, his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth and national interest for self and selfish interest.”

“We are, however, not totally surprised about Atiku’s latest desperation. Aware that this is his last shot at the elusive presidency, Atiku, while on the hustings, has been spewing a series of lies, making empty promises and presenting a false narrative about our present reality and the legacy of the 16-year ignoble era of the PDP administration, of which he was a principal actor.

“He claimed at his rally in Abuja on Saturday that the country is not secure for trading and farming, a false narrative that he has been pushing around for some time, since he relocated to Nigeria from his base in Dubai, principally to contest the election. 

“We believe in his private moment that Atiku will concede that his view about insecurity is exaggerated. Our country is certainly better secure than in 2015 when the PDP allowed insurgents to seize 17 local councils in Borno and some four councils in Atiku’s home state of Adamawa State when Abuja was under constant bomb attacks and people slept with eyes wide open.”