Debunking Atiku’s claims, the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) cautioned the former Vice President to always check his facts and figures before making them public. This, the group said, is the least that is expected from a man of his status and calibre.
The group also accused the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of hiding under the banner of Professor Anya O Anya of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) to add credibility to a false narrative on the country’s debt profile.
The group said in a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke that Atiku has a penchant for twisting facts for political expediency.
The statement said: “We are alarmed that a personality of the calibre of a former Vice President would go to the extent of playing up unverified information at a forum like that of a University, even if he owns the institution.
“We recognize that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is still bitter about the 2019 Presidential election that he lost fair and square but he doesn’t have to lie about something as serious as the country’s debt stock.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo once made it clear that the Buhari administration inherited a debt of $63bn from the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“He also said the same thing at a function at the University of Ibadan where he added that the debt rose to $73b in 2018 with a meagre $10b under Buhari’s watch.
“The breakdown presented by Professor Osinbajo showed that Nigeria’s debt stood at $35bn in 2010, $41bn in 2011, $48bn in 2012, $64bn in 2013 and $67.7bn in 2014 but as at handover, it was $63.8bn.
“Fact-checkers have also cross-checked the position of Vice President Osinbajo on the debt profile, using data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) and found it to be correct.
“We invite Nigerians to note that President Buhari was not in power when the country’s debt climbed to that level. So what is the basis for a man that aspired to rule Nigeria presenting fake news to an academic audience?
“It is our view that Atiku doesn’t understand when to drop the garb of politics and dorn that of a statesman,” it said.
The group also decried the former Vice President’s attempt to downgrade the administration’s strides in the education sector.
BMO said: “Is it not sheer hypocrisy for the PDP presidential candidate to attack President Buhari on education?
“While we know that there’s still work to be done in the educational sector, we make bold to say that Atiku was in government when Nigeria witnessed the most disruptions in its Tertiary Education system.
“Was he not the Vice President when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had one of its worst strikes with academic activities crippled for years?
“It is also on record that it was at the same time that Alhaji Abubakar and his principal set up private universities to take care of the interest of the elite at a time that children of average Nigerians spent several months at home.
“The country also began having the dubious record of the highest number of out-of-school children at that time, yet the then former Vice President thinks people have forgotten recent history.
“Conversely, this administration has ensured harmony on campuses and is ensuring that basic education is getting the necessary attention.”
The group consequently urged Nigerians to ignore attempts by a defeated presidential candidate to continue to play politics long after the election has been lost and won.