Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed allegations made by ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, against his emergence as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate.
Lawal had, in a statement announcing his resignation from the ADC on Monday, alleged that the party’s primary election results were manipulated in favour of Atiku and his loyalists.
Reacting via a statement issued on Monday, the Atiku Media Office rejected allegations levelled against the former vice president, insisting that Atiku’s political record demonstrated inclusiveness and tolerance.
The media office said while Lawal has the right to resign from the ADC and is free to do so because political parties are voluntary associations of people, “he is not entitled to cast aspersions on Atiku based entirely on fabricated and brazen lies.”
The media office stressed that Atiku remains one of Nigeria’s most liberal politicians, with a public record that can be independently verified.
It further accused the former SGF of promoting divisive sentiments for personal political interests, alleging that his actions and public disagreements were driven by selfish ambitions rather than national interest.
It also questioned Lawal’s claims of irregularities during the ADC primaries, noting that he had failed to provide evidence to support allegations of manipulation or rigging.
Babachir Lawal quits ADC, slams Atiku over ‘rigged’ primaries
The media office lashed out at the former SGF for allegedly bringing Atiku’s family into the controversy, arguing that such references were unrelated to concerns about the conduct of the primaries.
It stated: “Instead of offering evidence of his allegations, he went further to drag Atiku’s family into the issue which was irrelevant to the issue of primaries.
“It’s evident from the load of garbage published by the former SGF that he holds personal animosity against Atiku Abubakar.”
The media office, therefore, urged Lawal “to search his conscience and stop feeding the cauldron of division and bigotry among Nigerians for his own selfish interests.”
“There is no such thing as a Muslim and Christian party in Nigeria. When the outcome of a competition doesn’t favour you, you should petition the party to show proof of manipulations or rigging. It’s however most irresponsible for a former SGF to turn himself into an agent of division,” the media office stressed.
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