“We would not say that Bola Tinubu has lied. Rather, it is our desire to give him the benefit of the doubt, and believe that his memory may not be what it used to be,” Atiku said.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The raging war of words between the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seems not to be abating soon.
On Sunday, two days after the war started, Atiku described Tinubu as a man known for not owning up to his actions.
He also said that Tinubu is a man to be sympathized with for forgetting the name of his political party in 2007.
“In any case, if Bola Tinubu can forget the name of his own political party, why will he not also forget what transpired in 2007 and 2015? We do sympathise with him,” Atiku said.
Tinubu had rebutted Atiku’s claim that he ran for the 2007 presidency on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
The former Lagos State governor had claimed it was the Action Congress (AC), which he founded that offered Atiku its platform to contest the 2007 presidential election.
But ACN was founded in 2006 to replace AC and Atiku contested the election on the platform of CAN.
The verbal missiles started flying on Friday when Atiku, former Vice President, claimed in a recorded interview aired on Arise Television that his fundamental disagreement with Tinubu since 2007 has been on the issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Atiku who said he was opposed to Muslim-Muslim ticket in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society like Nigeria said he rejected Tinubu’s plea to be his running mate when he won the presidential ticket of the ACN in 2007.
“My fundamental disagreement with Asiwaju since 2007 was on the issue of a Muslim-Muslim ticket. That was my fundamental disagreement and departure politically from Asiwaju.
“Remember I came out of the PDP on the issue of zoning and together with Asiwaju, we formed ACN and I was given a ticket in Lagos and he (Tinubu) insisted to be my running mate and I said no, I am not going to have a Muslim-Muslim ticket,” Atiku said.
Atiku claimed that because of his refusal to pick him as a running mate, Tinubu supported the presidential candidate of the PDP, Umaru YarÁdua, who went ahead to win the 2007 presidential election.
But in a fierce rebuttal on Saturday, a highly flustered Tinubu called Atiku a pathological liar.
Tinubu said contrary to Atiku’s claim, the former Vice President actually offered him the position which he rejected.
He also 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.
“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.
“Atiku’s calculations and deceit had nothing to do with religion or his sensitivity to it. His conduct has everything to do with what we discovered about his paucity of character and love of intrigues,” Tinubu fired back.
But apparently determined that Tinubu should not have the last say on the matter, Atiku on Sunday said Tinubu is known for not owning up to his actions.
Insisting that multiple unconnected third parties corroborate his position on the former Lagos State governor, Atiku not only insisted that Tinubu lobbied to be his running mate in 2007 but also actively lobbied to be President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in 2015.
Atiku said the fact Tinubu was denying was true to character.
The statement titled, “Multiple Unconnected Third Parties Corroborate Atiku Abubakar’s Position on Tinubu,” and signed by Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007, reads:
“We have read the response from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the groundbreaking interview granted by His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, to Arise TV, and even though it was replete with indiscreet language, the former Vice President has elected to respond to the claims made by Asiwaju.
“In responding, he has chosen the route of a friendly riposte, in the hope that his gesture will be reciprocated by the Asiwaju in future.
READ ALSO: My fundamental disagreement with Tinubu since 2007 is on Muslim-Muslim ticket – Atiku
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“On the issue of Atiku Abubakar offering to make Bola Tinubu his running mate in 2007, the Waziri says as a statesman, which he believes Asiwaju Bola Tinubu also is, or should be, it is pertinent that they use temperate language at all times. It not only shows that they are seasoned and mature, more importantly, it is a good indicator of fitness for office.
“And that is why it is our intention to respond to Asiwaju’s statement on Atiku Abubakar’s Arise TV interview, not in the rather impolite manner that he dealt the PDP presidential candidate, but in measured tones.
“The major accusation made by Asiwaju Tinubu is that the Waziri Adamawa offered him the opportunity of being his running mate in 2007, which means that the former Vice President was not then mindful of Nigeria’s religious and ethnic diversity, making his statements during the Arise TV interview hypocritical.
“We would not say that Bola Tinubu has lied. Rather, it is our desire to give him the benefit of the doubt, and believe that his memory may not be what it used to be.
“Nigerians may want to note that on 14 September, 2005, the then US Consul General, Brian L. Browne, drafted a memo, leaked via Wikileaks, wherein he stated that Bola Tinubu was scheming to be a running mate to either Atiku Abubakar or Muhammadu Buhari.
“This is further historically corroborated by the subsequent political history of Nigeria. Biographers of President Muhammadu Buhari have variously recounted how Bola Tinubu made the same request of then Presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
“In his 2016 AUTHORISED biography of President Muhammadu Buhari titled ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’, Professor John Paden, an American, wrote about the issue as follows:
“Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and political ‘godfather’ of the South-West geopolitical zone, felt he should be the vice-presidential candidate.”
“The above clearly shows a behavioural pattern here. So, if anyone is “unhinged from the truth” (to borrow Asiwaju Tinubu’s words), it certainly is not Atiku Abubakar.
“In any case, if Bola Tinubu can forget the name of his own political party, why will he not also forget what transpired in 2007 and 2015? We do sympathise with him.
“The fact remains that in a fragile and ethnically diverse nation, such as ours, religious and ethnic balance must be observed at the highest levels, and from there flow downwards.
“That is what Atiku Abubakar said during his interview with Arise TV on Thursday, July 21, 2022, and he stands on that principle and will continue to so stand without apology to anyone.
“From the forgoing, it is clear that His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar’s memory and recollection of the event has been corroborated by multiple, independent, and unconnected third parties, and if this were a court of law, this issue would have been regarded as proved beyond reasonable doubt.
“We would also like to remind Nigerians that even though multiple sources have testified that Bola Tinubu desperately lobbied to be made Buhari’s deputy in a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Bola Tinubu himself denied this on June 22, 2022, and instead accused President Buhari of offering him the position of Vice President.
“Which is exactly the same false allegation he has made against Atiku Abubakar. This is a pattern of behaviour. Not owning up to his actions.
“Therefore, we hope this settles the matter, and that cordiality can be expected henceforth from the opposing camp.”