Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of insensitivity and misplaced priorities following the President’s visit to Plateau State on Saturday.
In a post on X on Saturday evening, Atiku criticised Tinubu for attending what he described as a “social event” organised by the APC National Chairman rather than visiting communities devastated by ongoing insecurity across the country.
“With large swathes of the country still under siege from unrelenting insecurity and thousands of innocent lives lost, it is deeply unfortunate that President Bola Tinubu has not, for once, found it worthy to visit any of the affected states to commiserate with the grieving citizens,” Atiku stated.
The former Vice President expressed dismay that while the President finally visited Plateau State—one of the most affected regions in the North-Central zone—it was not to console victims of violence but to attend a political funeral.
“It is a sad reflection of priorities and a glaring mockery of leadership that while families in Plateau continue to bury their loved ones, President Tinubu chose to grace a political funeral rather than stand with the people in their darkest hour,” he said.
Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), characterised the occasion as “a heartless exhibition of disregard for empathy, compassion, and the dignity of human life” by both the President and the APC National Chairman.
He pointed to the broader pattern of government absence across the North-Central region, citing Benue, Niger, and Kwara States as areas that have “endured some of the most horrific waves of violence in recent history” without presidential visits to console victims.
The former VP also criticised Tinubu’s symbolic visit to Benue State in June, noting: “He never bothered to set foot in Yelewata, the epicentre of the massacre. Instead, he ended his trip comfortably in Makurdi, turning his back on the people whose tears and blood still stain the soil.”
Atiku concluded with a harsh indictment of the President’s leadership style: “The message could not be clearer: this is a President who would rather feast than feel—a leader who finds pleasure where the people find pain. The Nigerian people are watching, and they will remember.”
The statement underscores growing tensions between opposition figures and the current administration over the government’s handling of Nigeria’s persistent security challenges.
