By Danladi Ahmed
The Democratic Front (TDF) has pointed to the defection of the son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a message that Nigerians cannot afford to ignore.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad, and Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, TDF insisted that it was proof of Atiku’s waning political influence even in his immediate family.
It said: “Our attention has been drawn to a media report on the defection of the son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Abbah Abubakar Atiku, from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The bold decision made by the former VP’s son did not come to us at The Democratic Front, and indeed keen watchers of Nigeria’s politics as a surprise.
“From our observations, the political popularity and goodwill of former Vice President Abubakar have been on a steady decline since he opted out of the ruling APC to pursue a presidential ambition that was clearly antithetical to the North-South rotational order of Nigerian presidency.
“Similarly, Atiku’s dismal performance as an embattled Vice President to former President Olusegun Obasanjo raised a lot of unanswered questions around his personal integrity, which grossly eroded his political popularity and public appeal, resulting in persistent defeat in several presidential elections, including that of 2023.
“Being the most politically active member of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s nuclear family, Abba Abubakar Atiku’s defection to join other members of the APC that are currently working for the reelection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is indeed a major setback for the father, no matter how much his media aides try to spin it.”
It also noted that the former Vice President is not the only ADC leader who failed to convince their children about their new political platform.
“We note that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not alone, because other ADC leaders like Senator David Mark and Mallam Nasir El Rufai do have their children representing the ruling APC in the Federal House of Representatives, and have since refused to join the opposition.
“TDF believes that the simulacrum of harmony that unified the trio of Atiku, Mark, and El Rufai in the family rejection saga, is rooted in their conspiracy to displace President Tinubu for their selfish interests.
“Having failed in his repeated attempts to convince the electorates to endorse him as Nigeria’s President in the last three decades, Atiku has become a nit-picker, who criticises government over irrelevant issues to elicit public attention, in his self-styled opportunistic opposition against the result-oriented Tinubu administration.
“Meanwhile, former Senate President David Mark and former Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El Rufai are in a cohort championing a league of directionless critics to promote a MeToo opposition campaign that irrationally opposes everything Tinubu does, without providing concrete alternatives. This is precisely the reason Atiku’s son left the opposition party to join the APC.
“We welcome Abba Abubakar’s decision to dump his father’s political camp in favor of President Tinubu’s reelection bid, and we also call on the children of both Senator Mark and El Rufai to remain steadfast and supportive of the second-term bid of the Tinubu administration, so that Nigeria can sustain the gains of the ongoing reforms in achieving socio-economic prosperity and political stability,” TDF added.
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