The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has said the political antecedents of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, disqualify him from being in the rank of late Moshood Abiola or Dr Alex Ekwueme.
Atiku’s media team had, in response to the Federal Government’s allusion to him as a threat to the nation’s democracy, described the former president as a hero of democracy in the class of the late politicians.
But the BMO said it was evil for anyone to make such comparison because facts were against did not support the position Atiku’s handlers were trying to sell to Nigerians
In a statement released on Sunday by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju; and Secretary, Casiddy Madueke, the group said, “It is laughable that Atiku’s media handlers could attempt to configure a not-too-recent history by passing off Atiku Abubakar, not only as a democrat, but to also compare him with more distinguished Nigerians like Moshood Abiola and Alex Ekwueme, both of blessed memory.
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“We know they have a job to do and we don’t envy them at all. Anyone that is saddled with the task of painting a good picture of a serially tainted politician would throw words around and hope that no one would notice the fallacies.
“Atiku’s political antecedents cannot be associated with that of a democrat. Here is a man that is willing to move and has actually moved three times between two different ruling parties and the opposition after failing to have his way.
“None of the people his media men have name-checked in their recent statement has had to change parties to satisfy a selfish desire.
“Both men were known to have suffered perceived injustices in their political journey, but like true democrats, they stayed back to help build their respective political parties.”
According to the BMO, Atiku allegedly threatened violence at a forum in Abuja shortly after he lost the PDP presidential ticket in a bitter contest with the then President Goodluck Jonathan before the 2011 elections.
“Before then, there was unprecedented intra-party acrimony that was so characterised by mudslinging that the then opposition Action Congress of Nigeria had to issue a statement calling for peace in the ranks of the ruling PDP.
“These facts are very much in the public domain, so it is preposterous that the Atiku camp is seeking to feed Nigerians with a red herring,” the group said.
“Nigerians would recall that Atiku Abubakar was a ranking member of the Social Democratic Party on whose platform Abiola ran for the Presidency on June 12 1993, but since he lost out in his bid to be the running mate to Abiola, he clearly went off the political radar and was not even known to play a major role in the campaigns.
“There was also no record of his participation in efforts spearheaded by activists to force the military government to respect the wish of the people, neither was he one of those who publicly took on Abacha when he usurped power.”