Former presidential aide and journalist,
Reuben Abati, has told Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to stop playing ethnic card and focus on urgent national issues.
He gave the advice on Thursday while speaking on Arise Television programme, ‘Morning Show’.
His criticism came after Atiku asserted that Yorubas have nothing to fear in his presidency because he married a woman from Ijesha, with whom he has children.
Reacting, Abati described the statement as “unfortunate,” accusing Atiku of “tribalizing” politics.
He said, “To start with, that ethnic card should not work. It must not work. It is unacceptable to the extent that there are more serious issues on the basis of which Atiku can engage with Nigerians.”
He went on to stress that Nigerians expect a presidential candidate to present solutions to pressing challenges such as oil theft, the operations of NNPC Limited, insurgency, terrorism, and controversies over state funds, rather than citing ethnic ties.
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“What Nigerians expect is not a president that will talk about where he comes from, where he married from. That’s not the interest. The interest should be what does he intend to do for Nigeria.
“There are many issues. One of the issues you have talked about this morning is oil theft. Does he have answers to that? Questions have been raised about NNPC limited. Does he have any concrete ideas about what he wants to do in that regard? In the front page of the papers today, there is a report that, you know, the Osun state government is protesting that there is an attempt to by the Ministry of Finance to seek the president’s approval to pay money belonging to the people of Osun state, that have been held, contrary to the rulings of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, to pay to politicians, APC politicians. Does he have an idea about that?
“So there are more, you know, important things: insurgency, terrorism that you Waziri Adamawa can talk about. But to say, my wife is from Yoruba land, and my son speaks Yoruba, nobody is interested in that.”
Abati added that Yoruba people have already produced presidents, including Olusegun Obasanjo and Bola Tinubu, and therefore do not require assurances of representation.
“In any case, he says he will defend Yoruba interest. Yorubas have had President Obasanjo, they’ve had President Tinubu. They are well represented in Nigerian politics at this time.” the journalist turned politician further said.
