President Tinubu Owes Me Debt Of Gratitude, Atiku Tells VP Shettima

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has submitted that President Bola Tinubu owes him a debt of gratitude contrary to the assertions that he  once gave him a help when he was in a precarious situation.

Recall that Vice President Kashim Shettima  had submitted last week Thursday  that both Atiku Abubakar and  the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu once benefited from President Tinubu’s political support  when they were being persecuted.

Shettima added that President Tinubu’s residence in Bourdillon had served as a refuge for Atiku when he faced alleged harassment, intimidation, dehumanization, and expulsion from the PDP.

‘He has been a veritable sanctuary for victims of political witch-hunts. When Atiku Abubakar was harassed in the Peoples Democratic Party, it was Bourdillon he ran to for support and it was in Bourdillon that he got the needed support and later contested for the presidency of this country’ he said.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that Atiku, who reacted to Shettima’s assertion through a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday,  submitted that the VP  ‘goofed’  adding that ‘truth be told, it was Tinubu that actually benefited immensely from Atiku’s goodwill’.

Atiku asserted that without his support, President Tinubu would not have enjoyed his governorship in Lagos state and may have even been impeached.

‘But for Atiku’s support, hinged on his pro-democracy instincts and rule of law, Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos would have been rough with a wide possibility of termination of his political career.

For some time, and especially leading up to the 2023  general election, there has been a deliberate attempt to distort the history of the politics of the early 4th Republic by ascribing the AC, the political platform that Atiku ran in 2007 as Tinubu’s party. Nothing could be further from the truth. Vice President Shettima, obviously carried away with the euphoria of the unveiling of his official residence as Vice President, repeated the same lie.

Shettima needs to be reminded that Atiku did not run under the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), but Action Congress (AC). AC came out of a coalition of ACD (Advance Congress of Democrats), formed by mainly PDM members and other associates and Tinubu’s faction of AD.

Moreover, Tinubu was not in a position to lend the platform to Atiku as erroneously being suggested,  as he (Atiku) was nominated by all the delegates from all the states.

The delegates to the primary election that threw up the former Vice President as the party’s presidential candidate included Atiku Abubakar himself, Lawal Keita, Amb. Yahaya Kwande, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Alexis Anielo, Titi Ajanaku, former governor Rasheed Ladoja, Chief Tom Ikimi, and Chief Dapo Sarumi.

Others were Chief Sergeant Awuse,  Alh. Lawan, Dr. Chris Ngige, Prof Ango Abdulahi, Dr Farouk Abdul Azeez, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief Ejiofor Onyia, and Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, among others. From the Tinubu’s Alliance for Democracy were Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Segun Osoba, Chief Adebayo Adefarati, and Chief Bisi Akande, among others’ the statement added-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you