Eniola Yekini
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s recent criticisms of President Bola Tinubu are driven by pain and bitterness over political defeat.
Keyamo said Atiku is pained that Tinubu clinched the presidency on his first attempt after both men pursued parallel political ambitions for decades.
In a statement on Friday night, the minister described Atiku’s verbal attacks on the President as symptoms of what he termed “agitated depression.”
“It is now very obvious that Atiku Abubakar is a pained and very bitter fellow. The pain and bitterness stems from the fact that he feels President Bola Ahmed Tinubu finally outsmarted him politically to get the most coveted position of President and he can’t mentally deal with this fact,” Keyamo said.
He recalled that when Tinubu was Governor of Lagos State, Atiku was Vice President and was generally regarded as ahead in the pecking order of those aspiring to be President.
The minister noted that both politicians left office in 2007 and pursued the presidency through periods of alliance and disagreement, until Tinubu eventually won in 2023.
“However, through a combination of fate, luck, divine interventions and political dexterity, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu finally clinched the Presidency at the first try as against his never-ending ambition since 1993. Here lies his pain, anger, despair and depression,” he said.
Keyamo urged those close to Atiku, who is now presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, to support him rather than encourage his public outbursts, warning that his posture could alienate his remaining supporters.
He quoted Ecclesiastes 9:11 to stress that political power is determined by divine timing.
“Power is given only by God Almighty, not by man. We should all pity Atiku Abubakar rather than goad him on. Rather than win supporters, he will lose most intelligent ones by his recent posturing,” he said, adding that Atiku “urgently needs mental health support at this critical time.”