Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has stated that it is too late for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to develop the character and integrity he has lacked since birth.
He was responding to a statement from the Atiku Media Office, which claimed that character was the reason the Peoples Democratic Party committee’s decision on selecting its vice-presidential candidate for the 2023 election was rejected.
In a signed statement, Olayinka said: “One of the reasons Wike initially rejected Atiku’s offer to be his running mate was his less-than-impressive character and integrity rating, until he was persuaded otherwise.
“And this, Atiku demonstrated when he rejected the decision of the party committee set up to choose his running mate, despite assuring everyone that the committee’s decision would be binding.
“Now, after his lie that he chose his running mate based on the committee report that placed the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as the number one, was exposed, he is now sermonising about character and integrity, qualities he himself lacks.
“It is ironic that the same Atiku, whom his former boss described as a ‘blatant and shameless liar,’ is now talking about character.
“For the record, Obasanjo stated in his book My Watch: ‘What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background, which was somewhat shadowy; his propensity for corruption; his tendency to disloyalty; his inability to consistently tell and adhere to the truth; a propensity for poor judgement; his belief in and reliance on marabouts; his lack of transparency; his trust in money to buy his way out of all issues; and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth, and national interest for self and selfish interest.’ To this day, Atiku has not refuted what his former boss said about him.
“Unlike Atiku, Wike does not conceal or misrepresent his stance on issues. He is not one to post a tweet on major issues and then hastily delete it. He was transparent about his position on the 2023 election, and he will be transparent about his position in 2027.
“It is Atiku who should begin to be truthful and reliable, especially now that he is older, because not everything should be about a desperate pursuit of the presidency.”
