UAE visa controversy: Atiku accuses Tinubu of spreading fake news in Nigeria

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, accused President Bola Tinubu of promoting propaganda in the country.

The former Vice President stated this in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu.

He was reacting to the reports on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities lifting of visa ban on Nigerians.

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, had in a statement on Monday announced the lifting of the month-long visa ban on Nigerians by the Gulf State.

He also announced the immediate resumption of flight operations in the country by Emirates Airlines.

These, according to him, were the outcomes of a meeting between the President and his UAE counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi.

However, the UAE government had since dismissed the claims.

In the statement, Atiku described the federal government’s claim as fake news and urged Nigerians to brace up for more in the weeks ahead.

He alleged that Tinubu had already chosen more than 15 media aides to misinform Nigerians about the policy of his administration.

READ ALSO: UAE lifts visa ban on Nigerians as Tinubu secures landmark deal

The statement read: “From the information available to us, Bola Tinubu is set to push propaganda to overdrive as he heads out for the United Nations General Assembly. He will claim to have attracted foreign investments amounting to $100bn but will fail to provide key details. It is all propaganda.

“It is all a load of baloney. In India, he claimed they had received pledges of over $14bn just as his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, claimed in 2018 that he had secured pledges of up to $6bn. This is nothing but audio investments.

“Last month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited claimed they had obtained a loan of $3bn with which it would help stabilise the naira. We raised the alarm that it was all a ruse to deceive Nigerians. Now, we have been justified as the naira is now approaching $1/N1,000 on the black market.

“After his trip to the UAE, Tinubu claimed the visa ban had been lifted immediately. Now, they have shifted the goalpost after the UAE authorities revealed that the news was false. This is the sort of embarrassment Nigeria will continue to attract in this season of balablu.

“The report by Financial Times Stock Exchange revealed that Tinubu’s so-called foreign exchange unification policy was failing and Nigeria was degraded from frontier market to unclassified. Having failed to bring economic rebirth, he has now recruited over 15 media aides instead of recruiting more economic experts.

“At the last count, the President’s media aides include Ajuri Ngelale (Special Adviser Media and Publicity), Tunde Rahman (SSAP Media), Tope Ajayi (SSAP Media and Publicity), Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (SSAP Print Media), Otega Ogara (SSAP Digital/New Media), Segun Dada (SAP Social Media), Nosa Asemota (SAP Visual Communications), Sunday Moses (PA Videography), Taiwo Okanlawon (PA State photography), Moremi Ojudu (SAP, Community Engagement, South-West), Tanko Yakasai (SAP, Community Engagement, North-West); Chioma Nweze (SAP, Community Engagement, South-East), Abiodun Essiet (SAP, Community Engagement North-Central), Abdulhamid Yahaya Abba (SAP, Community Engagement North-East), Emmanuella Eduozor (SAP Multimedia Content Production). This is apart from the Minister of Information and others appointed in the ministry to drive the propaganda agenda.

“Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy without any plan whatsoever and decided to hand over a few bags of rice to millions of poor Nigerians. To date, the minimum wage remains N30,000 or $31 per month based on the parallel market exchange rate.

“This is the punishment Nigerians are facing because the election management body failed to do its work on February 25. This is a manifestation of the words of the Holy Book, which says when the righteous lead, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people suffer.

“In the meantime, we ask Nigerians to remain patient as the judicial authorities do their job in righting the electoral fraud that has brought Nigerians to their knees.”

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