The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has fired back at the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, and his running mate, Sen. Kashim Shettima, following their remarks at the presentation of his (Tinubu) campaign manifesto to the business and organised private sector leaders in Lagos State.

Shettima had, on Tuesday, said Tinubu will “permanently retire” Atiku, who he described as a “political tourist”, to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2023, adding that the former Vice President lacks the experience to lead the country.

However, Atiku, while reacting via a statement issued on Wednesday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, said the APC presidential candidate failed to proffer solution to the “economic woes that his party has foisted on Nigerians in the past seven years”.

He stated that Tinubu and his running mate’s remarks showed “gross irresponsibility and disrespectfulness”, adding that it was indicative that the administration of the APC presidential candidate if elected in the 2023 general election, would be anti-entrepreneurship and anti-business.

Atiku noted that the gathering of the business leaders was supposed to be an avenue for laying out serious policy choices but Tinubu and Shettima chose to “embarrass their guests, using their audience to play vile political games”.

The former Vice President equally said Shettima should apologise to Nigerian workers, especially those that benefit from his businesses for “his irresponsible statement”.

He stated: “It is with utter dismay that we listened to the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, and his running mate talk condescendingly about other presidential candidates at a gathering that they invited members of the private sector to on Tuesday.

“The remarks from the candidates of the APC show gross irresponsibility and disrespectfulness.

“It is indicative that the Tinubu-Shettima administration will be anti-entrepreneurship and business.

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“One would have thought that the duo would use the advantage of such a gathering to talk about solutions that their party, APC, has foisted on the country. Rather, they went on the ultra highway of political indecency.

“Any business that produces products, creates jobs, and delivers dividends, especially in this era of the APC administration when the country is bleeding jobs is an asset and should not be mocked.

“It is irrelevant if it is a small business or a big business. And for Shettima, it is more shameful that he will denigrate a going business that employs a large chunk of people in the Northeast region.

“Even Atiku’s opponents have acknowledged his business resume that has seen him being engaged in businesses covering farming, animal feed, beverages, banking, logistics, polymer and plastics, education, among others employing thousands directly and hundreds of thousands indirectly.

“Shettima should apologise to Nigerian workers, especially the thousands that benefit from Atiku’s businesses for his irresponsible statement.

“Politics does not confer on anyone the license to make irresponsible statements.

“A gathering of the top echelons of the private sector was supposed to be an avenue for laying out serious policy choices. For Tinubu and Shettima on the contrary, they chose to embarrass their guests, using their audience to play vile political games.

“For someone who self-appoints as the APC national leader, it is ridiculous that the presidential candidate of the APC failed to proffer solutions to the economic woes that his party has foisted on Nigerians in the past seven years,” Ibe said.

The media aide of the PDP presidential candidate added that his boss, “unlike Tinubu who sat idly by and watched his APC ruin Nigeria to the current sorry state”, has been consistent in proffering solutions to the “myriads of ineffective policy options of the APC administration”.

He added: “Atiku, it was, who first raised the alarm about the debt burden that the APC has thrown Nigeria into. It was also Atiku who has continued to call the attention of the nation to the need to diversify the economy away from heavy dependence on exploration of crude oil.

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“Atiku, again, was the one who said that the quickest path to lift the majority of Nigerians out of the poverty belt is for the government to give incentives to the private sector in order for them to create more jobs for Nigerians.

“Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Atiku pioneered the private donor relief funds, which opened the gateway for other Nigerians of means to follow suit in providing succor to people who were worst hit by the attendant self-isolation regulation in the management of the pandemic.

“Tinubu, who has been in hibernation mode for the seven years that his party unleashed the worst moment of economic hardship on Nigerians, has suddenly found a voice because, as it is usual with the APC, the time is here again to hoodwink the people with sugarcoated promises.

“We, therefore, wish to remind the APC and their presidential candidate that, unlike them, the PDP and Atiku are promise keepers.

“Unlike the APC and Tinubu, Atiku has not waited until when election is around the corner to espouse solutions to the challenges facing the country.

“Unlike APC and Tinubu, Atiku’s position on the pathway to economic recovery of Nigeria has remained consistent ditto his views about restructuring, education, national inclusivity, and engendering healthy national security.

“Unlike Tinubu and his APC, Nigerians know that Atiku and the PDP are more believable to deliver on their manifesto,” Ibe noted.

The Star