The Presidency and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have exchanged words over his response to the release of pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday accused Atiku of failing to celebrate the release of the victims several hours after they regained their freedom.
In a post on his verified X account, Onanuga claimed that Atiku had previously used the abduction to criticise the Federal Government but remained silent after the rescue.
He said Atiku had not congratulated President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the security agencies or expressed support for the rescued pupils, teachers and their families.
“Almost 18 hours after the Oriire pupils and their teachers regained their freedom, Atiku Abubakar has not deemed it fit to rejoice with the Tinubu Federal Government, the security agencies and the traumatised victims,” Onanuga said.
He added that Atiku had spoken repeatedly about the abduction during the 57 days the victims were held but had failed to comment after their release.
However, Atiku rejected the accusation, describing it as a reckless distortion of facts.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said he had already released a public statement on the development.
He accused the Presidency of either failing to verify the facts or deliberately ignoring his earlier comments because they contained criticism of the government.
“It is astonishing that a Presidency with limitless public resources could accuse someone of silence without carrying out the most basic verification,” Atiku said.
He explained that although he welcomed the release of the pupils and teachers, he refused to praise President Tinubu because he believed the President had placed political activities above national security.
Atiku criticised the President for attending the launch of the All Progressives Congress door-to-door campaign ahead of the 2027 general election at a time when some abducted children were still being held.
According to him, the day should have been focused on national security and the rescue of other victims rather than political campaigning.
“The politics of re-election should consume no serious government while innocent schoolchildren have remained in the custody of kidnappers for weeks,” he said.
Atiku also stated that questions remained over other children who were reportedly still being held by kidnappers in Borno State and other parts of the country.
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