Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his recent attacks on President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of bitterness over the president’s emergence as Nigeria’s leader.
Keyamo made the remarks in a statement on Friday, October 9, following Atiku’s criticism of the Federal Government’s handling of petrol subsidy reforms and its decision to introduce a 30-day fuel discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) filling stations.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, had described the temporary discount as a “panic-driven publicity stunt”, arguing that the government had failed to implement the key elements of his proposed production subsidy policy.
Speaking at the inauguration of the ADC presidential campaign council in Abuja on Friday, Atiku accused Tinubu of copying his proposal without adopting the measures necessary to make it effective.
“Bola, you are like a dull student who copied his classmate’s answer. You have done it so blindly that the classmate’s name is at the top of his exam paper, and then you demanded marks for original thinking,” Atiku said.
He added that the president had adopted his production subsidy proposal but reduced it to a temporary fuel discount.
“You copied my production subsidy proposal, nothing wrong about that. You stripped away the part that makes it work and handed Nigerians a 30-day discount. Where is the rest of the answer, Bola? You see why it is good to go to school,” he said.
Responding to the criticism, Keyamo said Atiku’s remarks reflected resentment over Tinubu’s success in securing the presidency after years of political rivalry.
“It is now very obvious that Atiku Abubakar is a pained and very bitter fellow,” the minister said.
Keyamo argued that Atiku was struggling to accept Tinubu’s emergence as president, despite both politicians having pursued the nation’s highest political office for years.
According to the minister, their presidential ambitions became more pronounced after Tinubu left office as Lagos governor and Atiku completed his tenure as vice-president in 2007.
He attributed Tinubu’s eventual victory to a combination of political strategy, fortune and divine intervention, which he said had become a source of frustration for the former vice-president.
Keyamo also described Atiku’s recent criticism of the president as “a higher form of depression in the field of mental health called agitated depression”. He did not provide medical evidence to support the characterisation.
The minister further urged people close to Atiku to seek mental health support for him rather than encourage his continued attacks on the president.
“Let me remind Atiku Abubakar that, despite all the invectives he has poured on the president of late, power is given only by God Almighty, not by man,” Keyamo said, citing Ecclesiastes 9:11 in the Bible to support his argument about the factors that determine political success.
He added that Atiku needed support at what he described as a critical point in his political career, predicting that the former vice-president was approaching political oblivion.
The exchange comes amid a wider debate over the Federal Government’s management of petrol subsidy removal and measures to ease the financial pressure on Nigerians.
Atiku has questioned how the government has managed the benefits of subsidy removal and argued that a temporary discount at NNPCL stations would not address the broader challenges associated with fuel prices.
His latest comments suggest that the government’s 30-day discount falls short of the production subsidy framework he has proposed.
The disagreement has also intensified political exchanges between the ruling administration and opposition figures as political activities gather momentum ahead of the next presidential election.
While Atiku has focused his criticism on the government’s economic policies, Keyamo has responded by questioning the former vice-president’s motives and his reaction to Tinubu’s presidency.
