Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has hit back hard at President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of hypocrisy, historical distortion, and political desperation in his recent remarks on economic reforms.
In a strongly worded statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described Tinubu’s comments as a “reckless tirade” that exposes “a troubling pattern of hypocrisy and historical amnesia”.
He said: “Across the country, families are skipping meals, businesses are shutting their doors, and hardworking citizens are watching their incomes evaporate under the weight of relentless inflation and a collapsing purchasing power. The cost of living has become unbearable…What has been marketed as reform has translated into hardship without relief.”
Atiku defended his privatisation record, listing successful companies such as Oando Plc, Conoil Plc, African Petroleum (now Ardova Plc), Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Benue Cement Company, and Transcorp Hilton Abuja as proof of value unlocked under his watch. He accused the current administration of carrying out “privatisation without accountability” and commercialising the national oil company “in opacity – without clear valuation, without transparency.”
The former vice-president also took a direct swipe at Tinubu’s educational background, stating that: “It is not our fault that the President does not and cannot read; because Bola Tinubu has a history of attending a school in Lagos two years before it was founded, upon which he claimed his crooked Chicago State University degree”.
Atiku insisted his own public service record is “clear, documented and defensible”, while noting that persistent public concerns about Tinubu’s identity, age and academic history remain unresolved.
He concluded that a leader facing such scrutiny “should exercise restraint before casting aspersions on others”.
