Shaibu tells APC: Leave  Atiku alone, worry about public perception of your leader  

An aide to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu has cautioned members  of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC to worry less about the future political projection of the former presidential candidate.

The caution is in response  to what he called  ill-considered statement issued by the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), wherein its spokesman, Seye Oladejo, attempted to mock former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The Senior Special Assistant, Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar said, “as usual, the Lagos APC displayed its trademark hypocrisy, selective amnesia, and intellectual laziness.”

Shaibu on Thursday, in a personally signed statement said, Atiku Abubakar’s political journey, undoubtedly  is “public, transparent, and fully documented.

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“His age is known, his parents are known, his educational records are intact, and his public life can be traced from childhood to national prominence without the need for forensic experts, private investigators, or sworn affidavits to reconcile conflicting identities.

“This already places him miles ahead of their paymaster who — by all reasonable public evidence — is well past 90, yet insists on clinging to power and is already scheming for a second term. If Atiku, a far healthier, mentally sharper, and globally respected statesman, is “too old” to aspire at 79, then what do we call a visibly frail leader whose true age remains one of the country’s best-kept mysteries?

“The APC cannot, on one hand, enable a man who has switched names, ages, origins, and educational histories, yet on the other hand attack Atiku for making strategic political moves within a democratic system. Party mobility is not a crime; identity fraud is.

“Atiku’s decision to collaborate with the ADC is driven by conviction, nation-building, and a shared democratic vision — not desperation. Only those accustomed to treating political parties as private estates will find such collaboration confusing.

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“The Lagos APC should stop pretending to be concerned about Nigeria’s future. Their real fear is simple and understandable: Atiku Abubakar remains the single most formidable, experienced, and prepared leader in the country today. His moral stamina, political clarity, and national acceptance continue to expose the emptiness of the APC’s propaganda and the illegitimacy of the regime they serve.

“If the APC is looking for a man defined by “restlessness, panic, and desperation,” they need not look far. He is in the Villa — struggling to govern, struggling to appear coherent, and struggling to convince Nigerians that he is the age he claims to be.

“Rather than issuing unintelligent statements, the Lagos APC should direct its energy toward explaining the collapsing economy, the insecurity consuming the country, the hardship imposed on citizens, and the human suffering that has become the lasting legacy of their party.”

He said that Atiku Abubakar’s political relevance is not in question.