A group of Atiku Abubakar’s supporters, under the aegis of Atiku for Better Nigeria, has warned a former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, to desist from using derogatory remarks against Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The Atiku supporters advised Ezekwesili, who is a presidential candidate for 2019, to concentrate on her campaign and stop tagging other contestants and political parties as fraudsters.
The Atiku for Better Nigeria, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Benita Dike-Israel, made available newsmen, advised Ezekwesili to learn the ropes in politics so as to avoid “falling into the abyss”.
The group argued that by painting Atiku and the PDP black, Ezekwesili was indicting herself and bitting the fingers that fed her since she was a minister under the PDP regime.
The group said, “Oby should learn not to be rude to Atiku or bite the fingers that fed her.
“For her to say that the PDP and Atiku lack knowledge in economy and (are) into 419 politics, is self-indicting. That means her period as Minister of Education and Solid Minerals added no value to the party that appointed her and to Nigeria as a whole; that also means that her immense credential amounts to nought and (she) has nothing new to offer. After all, a river is as good as its source; for whatever is built on void is void.”
The Atiku supporters argued that by joining politics, Ezekwesili, who had been spearheading the campaign for the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls through the #BringBackOurGirls movement, had “diluted her fame and goodwill among ordinary Nigerians and friends of Nigeria”.
According to the group, people will now begin to see Ezekwesili’s campaign for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls as “a mere ruse, smokescreen and cheap opportunity to feather her own political nest.”
“Whereas it is her constitutional right as an eligible Nigerian to contest the election, yet she should understand politics as a game of persuasion and lobbying rather than (using) pressure group tactics of brick batting and (using) foul language.
“She can politicise without being rude and judgmental,” the Atiku supporters said.
