2 weeks Ago By Toyin Adebayo
ABUJA : Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Public Communications and Social Media, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of lying about the process that led to the selection of his running mate in the 2023 presidential election. Olayinka, in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, dismissed Atiku’s claim that he picked former Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, based on the recommendations of the committee set up by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
He insisted that Atiku ignored the panel’s report and instead made a personal choice that did not reflect the party’s preference. “By saying that ‘there were no laid down rules or laws on the selection process of a running mate..
. The final decision rests solely and exclusively with the presidential candidate,’ Atiku’s media office has confirmed that their principal actually lied and never had any regard for the PDP as a party,” Olayinka stated. Olayinka reiterated that Wike was never interested in being Atiku’s running mate, citing the former Vice President’s “enormous baggage.
” He asserted that Wike had no regrets working against Atiku in the 2023 election, just as Atiku should take responsibility for his own choices. “It gladdens our hearts that we have been able to establish that Atiku lied and he is not a man to be trusted. That he chose to lie during the Holy Month of Ramadan is, however, between him and Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala),” Olayinka said.
He added, “Atiku, as the PDP candidate, had the right to make whatever choice he wanted. He should be honest enough to defend his decision rather than misrepresenting facts to justify it.” Addressing PDP’s internal crisis, Olayinka questioned Atiku’s loyalty to the party, suggesting that his pattern of switching political platforms had been a major challenge for the PDP.
“On the PDP and the task of rebuilding it, it is necessary for Atiku to first come clear as to which party he belongs now, because PDP has not formed a coalition with any political party,” he said. He further stressed that there was no bitterness from Wike’s camp, only a case of divergent political choices. “No one is harboring any personal ill-feeling against Atiku for failing with the choice he made, and no one should harbor ill-feeling against Wike for succeeding with the choice he made.
But more than two years later, you are now trying to defend your own choice of failure with lies,” Olayinka concluded. The development further deepens the rift between key figures in the PDP, raising questions about the party’s unity and future direction ahead of the next electoral cycle..
