Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been told that it is too late for him to acquire the character and integrity he has allegedly lacked since birth. According to Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, no one knows Atiku better than former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom he served as Vice President for eight years.
Olayinka’s remarks came in response to a statement from the Atiku Media Office, which claimed that character was the reason the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) committee’s choice for the 2023 Vice Presidential candidate was disregarded.
He asserted that Atiku is not a man of character and integrity, pointing to Obasanjo’s book My Watch as evidence.
“One of the reasons Wike initially rejected Atiku’s offer to be his running mate was Atiku’s unimpressive reputation for character and integrity. It took considerable persuasion before Wike reconsidered. However, Atiku later demonstrated this same lack of integrity when he ignored the PDP committee’s decision on his running mate, despite earlier committing to abide by it,” Olayinka said.
He added: “After being exposed for falsely claiming that the committee ranked Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa as the top choice, Atiku is now preaching about character and integrity—qualities he himself lacks.”
Mocking Atiku’s credibility, Olayinka pointed out that even Obasanjo had described him as a “blatant and shameless liar.”
Citing My Watch, Olayinka recalled Obasanjo’s scathing assessment of Atiku:
“What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background, which was somewhat shadowy; his propensity to corruption; his tendency to disloyalty; his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time; a propensity for poor judgment; his belief and reliance on marabouts; his lack of transparency; his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues; and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth, and national interest for self and selfish interest.”
Olayinka further noted that Atiku has never refuted these claims.
“Unlike Atiku, Wike is straightforward and does not pretend about where he stands on issues. He doesn’t tweet and then delete his statements. He was clear about his stance in the 2023 election, and he won’t hide his position in 2027,” Olayinka continued.
He concluded by advising Atiku to embrace honesty and reliability, particularly in his old age, emphasizing that “not everything should be about desperation to be president.”
