Atiku to Bwala: I don’t need validation from politicians without principles

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the advice of the former spokesman of his presidential campaign organization, Daniel Bwala, on his presidential ambition.

Bwala, the Special Adviser on Policy Communication to the President, had in a programme on Television Continental (TVC) on Monday appealed to Atiku to reconsider his long-standing presidential ambition, suggesting that the path to Nigeria’s highest political office may not be part of his destiny.

He encouraged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 election to accept the realities of Nigeria’s political landscape and consider supporting President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the spirit of national unity and legacy-building.

However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, his media aide, Paul Ibe, the former Vice President, said he would neither seek nor require endorsement from political opportunists who abandoned principles as easily as they change parties.

The statement read: “His sanctimonious pontificating, laced with bitterness and duplicity, betrays a desperate effort to curry favour with a floundering administration clearly shaken by the unstoppable momentum of the national coalition being galvanised by Atiku and other progressive leaders.

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“Let it be clearly stated: Atiku Abubakar neither seeks nor requires validation from political opportunists who shed principles as easily as they change parties. Mr. Bwala’s current relevance, if any, is owed entirely to the platform he once occupied under Atiku’s leadership — a fact that should breed humility, not arrogance.

“The Tinubu camp’s obsession with Atiku’s political future is no coincidence. If, as they claim, Atiku is a spent force, why the relentless smear campaign? Why the strategic allocation of presidential platforms to attack him? The answer is plain: Atiku Abubakar remains the single most formidable opposition figure in Nigeria, and the coalition he is forging represents a clear and present danger to the decaying edifice of the ruling party.

“This broad-based alliance, aimed at reclaiming Nigeria from economic collapse, institutional failure, and democratic erosion, has clearly rattled the ruling elite. No amount of historical revisionism or sanctimony can obscure the fact that Atiku has been a central pillar in Nigeria’s democratic journey since 1999, championing reform, restructuring, and electoral integrity when others chose complicity.

“We reaffirm, unequivocally, that the Waziri Adamawa remains focused and unshaken in his commitment to Nigeria’s future. He will not be distracted by political jesters masquerading as patriots.

“The rescue and rebuilding of Nigeria is a task of urgent national importance — far too important to be derailed by the petty ego trips of desperate presidential aides.”

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