Atiku blasts Tinubu, defends political alliances amid PDP defections

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed criticisms over his recent political engagements and defended the right of politicians to associate freely, even as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reels from a wave of defections, including the high-profile exit of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, his running mate in the last general elections, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement issued on Friday, Atiku said he had been “overwhelmed with inquiries from concerned Nigerians” eager to understand his stance on the ongoing political shifts.

Freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy, they are fundamental rights,” Atiku declared. “Defections, alliances, and realignments are part and parcel of democratic politics. We’ve seen them before, and we’ll see them again.”

Atiku, who has come under criticism for visiting former President Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna, defended the move and accused his detractors of hypocrisy.

Some have resorted to insults because I visited former President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said. “Let’s not rewrite history: Buhari is not only a former leader but a significant statesman in the Nigerian political landscape. During the 2013 opposition merger, the leaders of the time consulted widely, including visits to Obasanjo and Babangida. So why is it now sacrilegious for me and other leaders to visit Buhari in Kaduna?”

He further slammed what he described as the “politics of selective outrage,” noting that PDP leaders have been engaging President Bola Tinubu without similar backlash.

“When PDP leaders are busy sipping tea and brokering power deals with President Tinubu, it’s called strategic alliance. But the moment I greet Peter Obi, el-Rufai, or visit Buhari, it becomes a national emergency,” Atiku said. “Hypocrisy and the politics of selective outrage have never been this fashionable!”

The former vice president reframed the looming political contest as a battle not between political parties, but between Nigerians and what he termed a “failed administration.”

“The coming political battle is not APC versus PDP, or LP versus APC. It is Nigerians versus an administration that has plunged the nation into untold suffering,” Atiku declared. “The economy is in freefall. Inflation is choking the masses. Jobs are vanishing. Youth restiveness is surging to terrifying levels. Nigerians are not just tired, they are angry, and rightfully so.”

In a direct attack on the Tinubu government, Atiku accused the administration of fueling division to distract from its failures.

The Tinubu administration has no achievements to stand on, no credible record to defend. Its only strategy is chaos and division, because that’s the last refuge of the incompetent,” he charged. “An incompetent captain does not only wreck his ship; he endangers the lives of everyone on board.”

Atiku’s remarks come amid intensified political realignments following the defection of key PDP figures to the APC, a move that Tinubu’s aides have mocked as a death knell for Atiku’s 2027 presidential ambition.

Presidential aides Tunde Rahman and Bayo Onanuga had earlier taunted Atiku, describing him as a “loser again” and claiming that his coalition plans were “dead on arrival.”