Atiku blasts Onanuga, rejects claim of silence on Oyo schoolchildren’s rescue

Politics

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has rejected claims by the Presidency that he remained silent following the rescue of the abducted Oyo schoolchildren and their teachers, insisting that he had publicly welcomed the development and commended the security agencies.

The response follows remarks by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who alleged that Atiku had repeatedly used the abduction as a campaign issue but failed to react after the victims were rescued following 56 days in captivity.

Responding in a statement on Saturday titled, “You Are Either Lazy or Too Embarrassed to Acknowledge My Statement,” Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the Presidency’s allegation as a distortion of facts.

According to Shaibu, Atiku had earlier issued a statement titled, “A Nation at War Needs a Commander-in-Chief, Not a Campaigner-in-Chief,” in which he welcomed the rescue of the children, praised the Armed Forces and other security agencies, and called for sustained efforts to secure the release of Nigerians still being held by kidnappers and terrorists.

“The Presidency’s claim that Atiku remained silent following the rescue of the schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State is a reckless distortion of facts that collapses under the weight of documentary evidence,” the statement said.

Shaibu argued that there were only two possible explanations for the Presidency’s position.

“It is astonishing that a Presidency with limitless public resources could accuse someone of silence without carrying out the most basic verification. Either they failed to read our statement because they were too lazy to do so, or they deliberately ignored it because it exposed uncomfortable truths about their misplaced priorities,” he said.

The statement maintained that Atiku not only congratulated the security agencies but also acknowledged their courage, professionalism and sacrifice.

However, Shaibu said the former vice-president deliberately refrained from commending President Tinubu, arguing that the Commander-in-Chief should have personally led the nation in celebrating the successful rescue while reassuring families whose loved ones remain in captivity.

Atiku also urged the Federal Government to focus on rescuing other abducted Nigerians, including children still being held in Borno State and other parts of the country.

He further accused the Presidency of devoting more attention to attacking the opposition than addressing the country’s security challenges.

“A government secure in its performance does not invent silence where there was a documented public statement. It responds to legitimate concerns with facts and results, not propaganda,” the statement added.