The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has described Abubakar Atiku’s strategic meeting with his crew in Dubai “as a disgusting, disgraceful display of opulence that insults the Nigerian people.
“This trip by Atiku and over a hundred people is not just a sign of his lavish lifestyle, but it depicts the elitist wasteful nature of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate.”
The group, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and its Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, described the pretentious strategy meeting as a guise by the PDP presidential candidate to show off his ill-gotten wealth through grandiose holidaying, a meeting that could have been held in Nigeria.
“It is unfortunate that a man seeking to be Nigeria’s President does not think that he can have a strategy session in Nigeria but has to travel over 3,000 kilometres to Dubai to have this session. Nigeria has beautiful locations that could host this so-called strategy session. There is Tinapa Business Resort in Calabar, Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi, Whispering Palms in Lagos, Inagbe Resorts in Lagos, and so many others. But Atiku chose to have his so-called session in far-away Dubai.”
The group noted that if the “strategy meeting” was held in a location in Nigeria, it would have provided more revenue for Nigerian businesses and add to the country’s economy.
“Going with a conservative estimate of over 100 persons, including PDP Speakers of State Houses of Assembly, in the country to holiday with Atiku, Nigerians can imagine the millions of dollars that would have been expended on this luxury trip.
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A minimum of 50,000 Dollars would be expended on each participant, with over 100 of them on this trip, Atiku would have blown at least five million dollars on this needless session that cannot even guarantee him victory at the polls.”
“A man who is spending this much money but submits a meagre 20 Million Naira annual income to our tax authorities is certainly one that must not be allowed anywhere near Nigeria’s leadership. This trip by Atiku and his elite crew insults the Nigerian people, and the masses.”
The group stated that Nigerians must reject an Atiku presidency as it would be one that would see to Nigeria being mortgaged to a few cronies of his as he had done during his days when he headed Nigeria’s privatisation as Vice President.
The group went further to note that President Buhari has shown himself to be a President for the everyday Nigerian and the masses, highlighting that his policies have shown that his heart is with them and not with the elites who think that Nigeria is their birth right.
“The President Buhari administration has so far invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Nigeria’s most successful and ambitious social investment programmes, which have changed the lives of over 15 Million poor Nigerians.”
“Over 500,000 previously unemployed young Nigerians are now engaged under the N-Power programme, over 9 Million children are being fed in our public schools, over a million Nigerian small and medium scale traders have accessed collateral-free loans”, the group added.