Paul Ibe, the media adviser to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has described the All Progressive Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as ‘anti-business’.
Ibe slammed Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, for stating that other candidates lacked the antecedent and experience to rule the country.
Tinubu and Shettima spoke while presenting his action plan before the business community and the organised private sector in Lagos on Tuesday.
But in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday, Ibe blasted the duo, stating that their remarks showed “gross irresponsibility and disrespectfulness.”
Ibe said, “It is with utter dismay that we listened to the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu and his running mate talk condescendingly about other presidential candidates at a gathering that they invited members of the private sector to on Tuesday.
“The remarks from the candidates of the APC show gross irresponsibility and disrespectfulness.
“It is indicative that the Tinubu-Shettima administration will be anti entrepreneurship and business.
“One would have thought that the duo would use the advantage of such a gathering to talk about solutions that their party, APC, has foisted on the country. Rather, they went on the ultra highway of political indecency.”
He further called on Shettima to apologise for his comments at the event.
Ibe said, “Shettima should apologise to Nigerian workers, especially the thousands that benefit from Atiku’s businesses for his irresponsible statement.
“Politics does not confer on anyone the license to make irresponsible statements.
“A gathering of the top echelons of the private sector was supposed to be an avenue for laying out serious policy choices. For Tinubu and Shettima on the contrary, they chose to embarrass their guests, using their audience to play vile political games.
“For someone who self-appoints as the APC national leader, it is ridiculous that the presidential candidate of the APC failed to proffer solutions to the economic woes that his party has foisted on Nigerians in the past seven years.”
Highlighting Atiku’s achievements in comparison to Tinubu, Ibe added, “Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Atiku pioneered the private donor relief funds, which opened the gateway for other Nigerians of means to follow suit in providing succor to people who were worst hit by the attendant self isolation regulation in the management of the pandemic.
“Tinubu, who has been in hibernation mode for the seven years that his party unleashed the worst moment of economic hardship on Nigerians, has suddenly found a voice because, as it is usual with the APC, the time is here again to hoodwink the people with sugarcoated promises.
“We, therefore, wish to remind the APC and their presidential candidate that, unlike them, the PDP and Atiku are promise keepers.
“Unlike the APC and Tinubu, Atiku has not waited for when election is around the corner to espouse solutions to the challenges facing the country.
“Unlike APC and Tinubu, Atiku’s position on the pathway to economic recovery of Nigeria has remained consistent ditto his views about restructuring, education, national inclusivity and engendering healthy national security.
“Unlike Tinubu and his APC, Nigerians know that Atiku and the PDP are more believable to deliver on their manifesto.”
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