By Lateef Ibrahim Abuja
Former Vice President and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has described an erstwhile Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose as a shameless liar and gossiper.
Atiku said this on Thursday while reacting to a report tagged, “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday, (Wednesday)”, which was attributed Fayose in the media.
The former Vice President and erstwhile presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2019 and 2023 general elections, said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu in Abuja.
Fayose had, in the report, claimed that Atiku Abubakar and the Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde among others, in a closed door meeting with former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida in Minna, Niger State, reached some agreements ahead of the 2027 general election.
The agreements, according to Fayose in his report, include; that Makinde will serve as the Presidential running to Atiku on the platform of ADC and that he (Makinde) promised to raise N10 billion for the project among other things.
However, the former Vice President stated, clearly, that the entire publication by Fayose is a shameless concoction, a tissue of lies stitched together by a serial purveyor of political gossip, whose relevance survives only on controversy, distortion, and cheap propaganda.
The statement pointed out that at no time was Atiku engaged in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script by Fayose.
He stated that there were no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets and that there were no discussions about ₦10 billion contributions.
He also dismissed the report of zoning manipulations attributed to Fayose in the report.
The statement stressed that the attempt to drag other political actors into this fabricated beer parlour tale by Fayose did not elevate its credibility, as it merely exposed the desperation behind it.
The statement by Phrank Shaibu reads, “Our attention has been drawn to a reckless and malicious fabrication titled “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday,” attributed to one Peter Ayodele Fayose.
“Let it be stated clearly: the entire publication is a shameless concoction- a tissue of lies stitched together by a serial purveyor of political gossip whose relevance survives only on controversy, distortion, and cheap propaganda.
“At no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script.
“There were no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets. There were no discussions about ₦10 billion contributions. There were no zoning manipulations.
“There were no delegate-delivery guarantees. And there is certainly no clandestine “Dubai meeting” on any such agenda.
“The attempt to drag other political actors into this fabricated beer parlour tale does not elevate its credibility; it merely exposes the desperation behind it.
“His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s political engagements are broad-based, principled, and national in scope — not the narrow, transactional theatrics invented in that publication.
“The story is not insider information. It is insider fiction -manufactured to mislead, distract, and provoke.
“It is unfortunate that certain individuals, long deprived of credibility and political gravitas, now attempt to manufacture relevance by inventing tales around serious national figures. Falsehood may trend for a moment, but it collapses under the weight of truth.
“Atiku Abubakar does not transact politics in secrecy, bribery, or transactional desperation as mischievously and irresponsibly portrayed.
“He remains focused on principled engagement and national redemption — not backroom theatrics designed by attention-seekers.
“We advise the public to treat the publication with the contempt it deserves”, the statement concluded.
