The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of deploying desperate tactics to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s support in Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, made the allegation in a statement shared on X on Saturday titled Why Atiku Abubakar Is Particularly Jittery About The Kaduna Flag-Off, ahead of the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign rally in Kaduna State.
He accused Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, of sponsoring online attacks against the APC and spreading disinformation to create the impression that Tinubu has been rejected by voters in the North.
According to Keyamo, some of the alleged tactics include positioning cameras at selected locations to record individuals pulling down campaign posters and circulating the footage online.
He also alleged that false claims about the financial resources deployed for the Kaduna rally were being circulated to discredit the President’s support in the region.
Keyamo cited an alleged fake letter claiming that N2.3 trillion had been earmarked for the rally, describing it as part of an attempt to portray Tinubu as facing widespread opposition in Northern Nigeria.
“The intention is to generate a hoopla that will create a groundswell of public opinion that President Tinubu has been ‘massively rejected’ in the North,” he said.
The minister argued that Atiku’s political calculations for the 2027 election depended heavily on securing Northern votes because, according to him, the former vice president had limited prospects of gaining support in the South.
He said Atiku was banking on the North to secure victory, particularly given what he described as the prevailing sentiment that the South should complete eight years in the presidency.
Keyamo also recalled the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, claiming that Atiku lost across all North-Central states and Southern states, except Osun State.
He alleged that Atiku had previously supported Southern presidential candidates he considered uncompetitive to divide votes in the region and improve his chances in the North.
“His original projection was that President Tinubu would not compete for votes in the North and would be restricted to parts of the South,” Keyamo said.
However, the minister argued that the APC’s political structures in Northern Nigeria had undermined Atiku’s electoral calculations.
He described the former vice president’s projected advantage in the region as “dissolving like Andrews Liver Salts in water”, insisting that the President’s support across the North could frustrate his opponent’s strategy.
Keyamo further argued that even if Atiku secured victories in some Northern areas, Tinubu could still win the election through stronger performances in the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria.
“Atiku Abubakar has seen that his demographic calculation for the 2027 elections regarding northern votes is dissolving like Andrews Liver Salts in water. Hence the resort to these desperate tactics,” he said.
The minister also rejected comparisons between Atiku and former President Muhammadu Buhari, who secured substantial Northern support in the 2015 presidential election.
He argued that Atiku’s political background differed significantly from Buhari’s, alleging that corruption-related concerns would undermine the former vice president’s appeal among Northern voters.
“Atiku Abubakar thinks he is the Buhari of 2015, who swept the Northern votes. He thinks that was a display of ethnic support,” Keyamo said.
He added: “He fails to realise that his corruption-laden past puts him poles apart from a Muhammadu Buhari, and that Northerners do not tolerate such persons with the putrid smell of corruption.”
Keyamo concluded his statement with a sharp dismissal of Atiku’s political standing, saying: “Atiku Abubakar is a butterfly that thinks it is a bird.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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