Oshiomhole Slams Atiku’s Critique of Tinubu’s Plateau Visit, Cites ‘Political Obsession’
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District and former Governor of Edo State, has strongly rebutted the recent condemnation by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar regarding President Bola Tinubu’s attendance at a burial ceremony in Plateau State.
Speaking on a national television programme, Mr. Oshiomhole dismissed the comments from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate as being entirely dictated by political motives, stating that Mr. Atiku has become “consumed by politics.” “I have a degree of compassion for Atiku,” Oshiomhole remarked. “He has permitted himself to be completely engrossed in political thinking. Every situation he observes, he filters through a lens of partisanship.”
The controversy arose after President Tinubu traveled to Jos, Plateau State, on Saturday to attend the funeral service for Mama Lydia Yilwatda Goshwe, the late mother of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Mr. Atiku, a prominent figure in the PDP, had earlier lambasted the President’s action on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, calling it a “disappointing display of misplaced priorities and a travesty of leadership.”
The former Vice President argued that the President ought to have prioritized visiting and consoling the victims of the recurring security breaches and attacks across the North Central region instead of attending what he termed a “social event connected to his party leader.”
Atiku’s statement further asserted, “Given that vast areas of the nation remain under siege from relentless insecurity and countless lives have been lost, it is deeply regrettable that President Bola Tinubu has yet to deem it worthwhile to visit any of the affected states to offer solace to the grieving populace.”
He concluded his criticism by calling the joint action of the President and the APC National Chairman “a callous exhibition of indifference to compassion, sympathy, and the sanctity of human existence.”
In his defence of the Presidency, Senator Oshiomhole maintained that the President’s presence at the funeral was in line with established decorum and should not be subjected to political mudslinging.
“It is standard practice for a national leader to go to a state and offer condolences to the governor, which embodies the collective feeling of the state’s citizens,” Oshiomhole argued.
He further pointed out that the President had previously visited Benue State during the festive season, downplaying the necessity for the President to visit every single community affected by unrest.
“He was in Benue for the Christmas holiday. He went to Benue for a birthday celebration. So, does he have to go to the specific locality, or in this instance concerning the APC Chairman’s mother, did he go to the very village where the woman was born or where the interment was held?” the Senator questioned rhetorically.
President Tinubu delivered a message of peace and unity during the funeral service at the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) Headquarters in Jos, urging citizens to embrace harmony and discard religious and ethnic divisions.
