The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, says repeated “lies” were evidence that President Bola Tinubu’s only plan was to use propaganda to deceive Nigerians.

Atiku stated that Tinubu has been deceiving Nigerians rather than doing any proper work in rescuing the citizens from the “bottomless pit of bad governance” the All Progressives Congress-led administration pushed the people into in the last eight years, including the president’s 117 days in office.

The former president stressed that the fact that Tinubu had more media aides than economic and security advisers was enough to prove that the latter’s administration would rely on propaganda as a state policy.

Atiku said these in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Sunday, September 24, 2023.

Atiku’s aide said: “My advice to the Nigerian media is to always fact-check any claim made by this government as this would help maintain their credibility. If the Tinubu government says it is morning, go outside to verify if the sun is shining.

“The first lie that was told by Bola Tinubu was in his inaugural speech, where he stated that petrol subsidy is gone. With oil prices now at $94 per barrel and naira exchanging at N1,000/$1, the price of diesel has risen to about N1,000 per litre while petrol remains at about N620 per litre. It is obvious to the discerning mind that petrol is now being subsidised, a position which all oil marketers have espoused.

“Nigerians should not be deceived. Tinubu’s claim that there is no subsidy is a lie from the pit of hell, and the fact that they are even hiding the information means there is no transparency, and the money is probably being stolen again.

READ ALSO: ‘UAE visa’: Tinubu’ll rule Nigeria with propaganda ― Atiku

“The second lie told was that the United Arab Emirates had lifted the visa ban on Nigerians immediately and that all Nigerians were free to visit Dubai. This lie was well celebrated by many undiscerning Nigerians whose only crime was to believe the deceptive words of an illegitimate government. UAE authorities later confirmed to CNN that it was all a lie. What a national embarrassment!

“A third lie told by this deceptive government is that Tinubu was the first African President to ring the NASDAQ bell. It has since been established that Malawian President, Jakaya Kikwete, rang the bell on September 21, 2011.

“Another lie was a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale on August 27, 2023 where US Presidential Envoy and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, was quoted as saying, ‘President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership.’ Well, this has turned out to be another embarrassing lie as Tinubu has departed UNGA and never met President Biden.”

Shaibu noted that Tinubu has been running “a government of the clannish, by the clannish and for the clannish” with all appointments in every sector, adding that the president deceived Nigerians on the Student Loan Act, which was signed into law on June 12.

He said: “After the law was signed, all federal government schools began increasing school fees. But Dele Alake, the Special Adviser on Media as he then was, said in a statement that tuition in all government schools remains free and that the only fees that were increased were accommodation, laboratory, library and other costs.

“So if tuition is free and the Students Loan Act covers only tuition fee, that means the Student Loan Act is pointless, and no money will be released.

“In essence, Tinubu’s government has prodded government schools to increase fees while no loans will be given to the students. This is the height of deception and wickedness.”

Atiku’s aide, therefore, urged Nigerians not to be “deceived” by the apology issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, and other Tinubu’s aides, saying: “They were only sorry because they had been caught and not because they were penitent.”

The Star