Atiku: Nigerians Won’t Spend 2023 Christmas on Petrol Queues

*Says Tinubu’s promise to remove fuel subsidy an indictment on Buhari 

*Faults Wike for sealing of campaign office 

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday told Nigerians that they would not spend 2023 Christmas queuing for petrol at filling stations, if they vote for him in February next year.
He said the promise by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Bola Tinubu to remove fuel subsidy if he his elected president in 2023 is an indictment on President Muhammadu Buhari.

The special assistant to Atiku on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, made the promise in a statement in Abuja.
Shaibu also described the sealing of the campaign office of the former vice president in Port Harcourt by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State as a threat to democracy and reminded the governor that power belongs to God.

He said: “Atiku Abubakar hereby promises Nigerians that this will be their last Christmas that will be spent at a filling station queuing for petrol. Voting APC in February will be a reinforcement of failure which could push Nigeria into an existential crisis. To Nigerians, we say the ability to change your destiny lies in your hands. Merry Christmas.

“With the fuel scarcity now continuing till December, the government has run out of excuses even as most Nigerians are now at the mercy of black marketers who sell petrol as high as N500 per litre. The NNPC which is the sole importer of petrol has failed to live up to its duties, clear evidence that its privatisation is merely cosmetic.

“But the biggest culprit in this mess is President Muhammadu Buhari who is the minister of petroleum. It is saddening that he has failed to bring succour to Nigerians who are suffering from the worsening inflation, unemployment and insecurity.

“It is disheartening that a country that claims to spend $40m daily on petrol subsidy cannot still make the product available to its people. This is clear evidence that the monies are going into private pockets ahead of elections at the expense of Nigerians.
“The APC which is running for a third term through the person of  Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now promising renewed hope after dashing the hopes of millions of Nigerians for the last eight years.

“It is exasperating that Tinubu is promising to remove petrol subsidy when his party has retained it for the last seven years and spent billions of dollars subsidising criminality. It is obvious that Tinubu’s statement is an indictment on Buhari.
Shaibu also faulted the sealing of the Atiku campaign office in Port Harcourt by Governor Wike, describing the action as a threat to democracy and reminded the governor that power belongs to God.

He called on peace-loving Nigerians to condemn the act.
Shaibu said people should be mindful that power belongs to God.
“Power belongs to the landlord of the universe and no man can usurp the powers of the Almighty. It amounts to heresy to sound as if the power of life and death is in our hands.

“Don’t be deceived, if a mere mortal has powers to make or stop another man from being President, he would first make himself.
“The fact is that a snake that you can see does not bite. Besides, the elephant does not limp when walking on thorns. So, whether the cockcrows or not, the sun must rise. Take it to the bank, Atiku would be president in 2023”, the statement added.
The statement further said that even those who boasted to have made President Buhari in 2015  are struggling in this campaign for the coveted seat of Presidency in 2023.

Also in his reaction, a spokesman of the Atiku/ Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Charles Aniagwu said the act of sealing the presidential campaign office of Atiku should not be seen as being targeted at the former vice president but as a threat to democracy and gradual decent to dictatorship which should be condemned.

 Aniagwu who is also the Delta State Commissioner for Information told THISDAY that the sealing of Atiku’s campaign office is “certainly a threat to democracy and the gradual descent to dictatorship by one man.
“We are not a Banana Republic where one man decides what is the rule of law through his first executive order. We are a democracy where everyone should be allowed to have his say and the majority have their way but to the dictates of one man.

“We have gotten to the level where Nigerians must draw a line between responsibility and the irresponsible acts of one man.
“Nigerians should not see the sealing up of the campaign office by the Rivers State government as Atiku Abubakar becoming a target. No, he is not. Rather, the sealing of the Atiku presidential campaign office should be seen as a direct threat to democracy by one man who will not accept his defeat in a democratic contest where one person wins and another loses. This is one of the tenets of the spirit of democracy, the spirit of give and take.

“Nigerians should not keep quiet. This is an attack on democracy. The Electoral Act is clear on this, that every person should be given equal space in the campaign. Shutting down someone is not part of the spirit of democracy. Nigerians should speak against this action of the Rivers State Government through the Executive Order.

“It is painful but the truth must be told that this Executive Order is targeted at Atiku, but let me tell you that power belongs to God and Atiku will be President, no matter what arrow is targeted at him,” he added.