TheCable

The presidency has chided former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his comment that President Tinubu should “step aside from office if the shoes are too big”.

Earlier in a post on X, Abubakar accused Tinubu of fiddling with Nigeria in the face of worsening insecurity.

He said while the president has been away on a private visit to France, kidnappers have killed a grandmother in the nation’s capital and two traditional rulers in Ekiti state.

The former vice-president said the country needs 24/7 leadership to confront insecurity and address the country’s ailing economy.

However, in a statement, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said  Abubakar is still nursing the hangover of his electoral defeat.

Onanuga added that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 elections “now latches on to any issue to attack President Tinubu”.

“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s statement accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of fiddling amidst some security and economic challenges is to say the least, reckless,” the statement reads.

“Coming days after he made an equally reckless allegation against the President on the crude for loan deal for NNPC Limited, his latest statement fell short of what is expected from an elder statesman.

“President Tinubu did not travel without informing Nigerians of his whereabouts. He announced a private visit to France and announced a return date.

“While in France, President Tinubu has been following developments at home and he is on top of the situation in the country. Today’s inauguration of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage bore his imprimatur.

“He is in constant touch with his officials and security chiefs and has directed them to stamp out every form of criminality in the country.

“He has particularly ordered them to apprehend those criminals responsible for the murder of two monarchs in Ekiti State and the kidnapping of some pupils in the state.

“We are already seeing results with the arrest of over 139 kidnappers around Abuja, Kaduna and Benue States in the last one week. The police Special Intervention Squad (SIS) and DSS have also rescued 154 abducted persons in the last few days.

“Just last week President Tinubu approved N50 billion as Special Fund to address some of the lingering security challenges in the North East where Alhaji Atiku hails from.

“If Alhaji Atiku is really concerned about security issues and not playing cheap politics, he should have known that President Tinubu is on top of issues and working hard to restore peace to every part of our country.”

The presidential aide said the security agencies are working “very hard” to bring the security situation under control.