Presidency Tackles Atiku Over ‘Hunger’ Claim

The Presidency has berated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for his comments on the nation’s state, describing his claims of hunger and looming unrest as misleading and out of touch with reality.

In a statement issued earlier, Atiku compared Nigeria’s current situation to the unrest that preceded the 1789 French Revolution and the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

However, on Monday, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the comparison on his X handle, insisting that recent data showed positive progress under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“Talk is cheap. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his handlers are clearly out of touch with the positive developments currently unfolding in our country,” the Presidency said.

Citing the National Bureau of Statistics, Onanuga noted that headline inflation had declined for the fifth consecutive month in August, while the bureau also reported a record trade surplus over the weekend.

It added that the contribution of non-oil exports to the country’s trade balance was now nearly at par with crude oil at a ratio of 48:52 per cent.

The presidency further disclosed that Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves had risen to nearly $42bn, up from $32bn when President Tinubu assumed office.

According to the Presidency, arrears of over $7bn, including $800m owed to airlines, had also been cleared within the period.

It added that under the current administration, states could pay salaries and gratuities promptly while still having funds left for capital and social projects — an achievement it said had not been witnessed at such a scale before.

“After just two years and five months in office, we are proud of the progress made under President Tinubu’s leadership. Atiku and his allies may ignore these gains, but Nigerians can see and feel the positive changes across the nation,” Onanuga said.

The Presidency accused the former Vice President and the Peoples Democratic Party of being fixated on “doomsday scenarios and revolutionary rhetoric,” adding that many of the challenges facing the country today stemmed from what it described as “economic mismanagement during the PDP years, when Atiku was Vice President.”