By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has told the presidency to read before attacking, describing its claim that he remained silent following the rescue of the abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State as a reckless distortion of facts that collapses under the weight of documentary evidence.
In a statement issued by his senior special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Saturday, Atiku said there are only two possible explanations for the presidency’s latest outburst.
“It is astonishing that a presidency with limitless public resources could accuse someone of silence without carrying out the most basic verification. Either they failed to read our statement because they were too lazy to do so, or they deliberately ignored it because it exposed uncomfortable truths about their misplaced priorities,” the statement read.
The reaction followed criticism from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who had faulted Atiku for not publicly reacting to the release of the Oriire pupils and their teachers nearly 18 hours after they regained their freedom.
“Almost 18 hours after the Oriire pupils and their teachers regained their freedom, Atiku Abubakar has not deemed it fit to rejoice with the Tinubu federal government, the security agencies and the traumatised victims,” Onanuga had stated.
Atiku said contrary to the false narrative being peddled, he had issued a comprehensive press statement earlier in the day titled ‘A Nation at War Needs a Commander-in-Chief, Not a Campaigner-in-Chief’, in which he welcomed the rescue of the children, commended the gallantry of the Armed Forces and other security agencies, and called for sustained efforts to rescue every Nigerian still in captivity.
“For the benefit of Nigerians and to expose the falsehood being circulated by the Presidency, we reproduce below the relevant portions of that statement,” the statement said.
“The rescue of innocent schoolchildren from the hands of terrorists is a victory for our gallant troops and a source of hope for every Nigerian family. They deserve the gratitude of the nation,” the earlier statement had quoted Atiku as saying.
The former vice president had also stressed that the successful rescue of the Oyo schoolchildren should not distract the nation from the painful reality that many other Nigerians, including abducted schoolchildren and innocent citizens in Borno and several other parts of the country, remain in captivity.
“One successful rescue must not become an excuse for self-congratulation. A nation cannot celebrate while other parents still go to bed not knowing whether their children are alive or dead. Our work is not done until every abducted Nigerian is safely reunited with his or her family,” he had said, urging the federal government to sustain relentless pressure on terrorists, bandits and kidnappers until every abducted Nigerian is rescued and every community under siege regains peace and security.
Atiku said the reproduced excerpts expose the presidency’s allegation as entirely false.
“The facts are now before Nigerians. We did not only congratulate the security agencies; we praised their courage, professionalism and sacrifice in unmistakable terms. What we declined to do was to applaud a commander-in-chief who, at a defining moment of national importance, remained publicly preoccupied with partisan political activities instead of personally leading the nation in celebrating the success of our troops and reassuring families whose loved ones remain in captivity,” he said.
He added that no amount of propaganda can erase the fundamental questions raised in his earlier statement.
“The rescue of the Oyo schoolchildren brought joy to the nation, but Nigerians are still asking: when will the children abducted in Borno and other innocent citizens across the country also regain their freedom? Those questions remain unanswered.
“A government secure in its performance does not invent silence where there was a documented public statement. It responds to legitimate concerns with facts and results, not propaganda. Nigerians deserve a presidency focused on rescuing every citizen still in captivity rather than one preoccupied with monitoring and misrepresenting the opposition,” he stated.
