‘No Amount Of Bitterness Can Alter Reality’ — Atiku Blasts Babachir Over ADC Primary Election Claims

The media office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, of allowing “post-primary bitterness” to cloud his judgement following his criticism of the presidential primaries of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that “no amount of post-primary bitterness can alter reality.”

The position was contained in a statement signed and released by Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the Presidential Candidate of the ADC, Atiku Abubakar, in response to comments made by Babachir over the outcome of the party’s recent presidential election process.

“The 2027 election will not be decided by tantrums, ethnic dog whistles, recycled grievances, or revisionist history. It will be decided by the Nigerian people. And no amount of post-primary bitterness can alter that reality,”

The Atiku media office said Babachir’s remarks amounted to “a lengthy and emotionally charged outburst” and described his allegations against the primary election as unfounded.

“Ordinarily, Mr. Lawal’s latest excursion into political fiction would not merit a response. However, having chosen to malign a democratic process, insult thousands of ADC members nationwide, and make grave allegations without presenting a shred of evidence, it has become necessary to set the record straight,” the statement said.

The statement argued that it was ironic for Babachir to present himself as an advocate of transparency and democratic values, given the circumstances surrounding his exit from public office.

“It is perhaps the greatest irony of this entire episode that Mr. Babachir Lawal now seeks to reinvent himself as Nigeria’s newest apostle of integrity, transparency, and democratic virtue. Nigerians may forgive many things, but they seldom forget history.

“Mr. Lawal is not remembered for any celebrated crusade for accountability. Rather, he remains one of the most prominent public officials ever removed from office under the cloud of the infamous grass-cutting contract scandal.”

According to the statement, Babachir’s public service record makes his criticism of the ADC primary process difficult to reconcile.

“It is therefore remarkable that a man whose public service career became synonymous with questions of conflict of interest and abuse of office now wishes to lecture Nigerians on electoral integrity.

“That one of the most recognizable faces from that era now seeks to occupy the moral high ground is not merely ironic; it is political satire writing itself.”

The Atiku camp insisted that the ADC presidential primaries were conducted across thousands of wards and produced what it described as a clear and decisive outcome.

“The truth is straightforward. The ADC presidential primaries were conducted across thousands of wards and produced a clear and decisive outcome.

“What Mr. Lawal has offered Nigerians is not evidence. He has produced no documents, no verifiable facts, no credible witnesses, and no proof whatsoever to support his sensational allegations.”

The statement further accused Lawal of relying on conspiracy theories and personal attacks instead of presenting facts.

“Instead, he has served up a familiar cocktail of disappointment, bitterness, conspiracy theories, and personal attacks against a political leader whose national appeal continues to transcend the narrow confines of factional politics.”

The Atiku media office also highlighted what it described as contradictions in Lawal’s position on electoral malpractice.

“Even more revealing is the contradiction at the heart of his statement. In one breath, he condemns what he calls electoral manipulation. In the next, he openly admires and celebrates what he describes as President Tinubu’s ‘superior rigging machine.’

“Nigerians are therefore entitled to ask a simple question: if rigging is indeed an unforgivable crime, why does Mr. Lawal appear almost fascinated by it when he imagines it might serve his preferred political outcome?”

The statement further accused Lawal of resorting to ethnic and religious sentiments after failing to secure support for his preferred candidate.

“Perhaps the most troubling aspect of his outburst is his resort to ethnic and religious prejudice. Having failed to persuade ADC members to embrace his preferred candidate, he now seeks refuge in the divisive politics of identity.”

According to the statement, such rhetoric does nothing to address the pressing challenges confronting Nigerians.

“Such rhetoric neither unites Nigeria nor addresses the hardship confronting ordinary citizens. It creates no jobs, lowers no food prices, secures no communities, and offers no pathway out of the national crisis.”

The Atiku camp also questioned Lawal’s acceptance of the ADC governorship primary outcome in Adamawa State, where his cousin, Omar Suleiman, reportedly emerged as the party’s governorship candidate.

“Mr. Lawal has also failed to explain how the very same primary process he now dismisses as fraudulent somehow produced a result he appears perfectly willing to accept in Adamawa State, where his cousin, Omar Suleiman, emerged as the ADC governorship candidate.

“Nigerians are entitled to ask whether the process was only credible when it favoured his family and only rigged when it produced a presidential candidate he did not support.”

The statement described Lawal’s position as “selective outrage,” arguing that he embraced outcomes that favoured his interests while rejecting those that did not.

On Lawal’s criticism of Atiku’s family, the media office dismissed the issue as irrelevant to the concerns of ordinary Nigerians.

“His attack on Atiku Abubakar’s family is equally unfortunate and entirely irrelevant. Nigerians understand the difference between family and public office.

“What concerns ordinary citizens today is not how many children a politician has, but how many children are going to bed hungry.”

The statement maintained that Nigerians were more concerned about economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment and the rising cost of living than personal attacks on political figures.

Defending Atiku, the statement said Nigerians were familiar with his public service record, business achievements and commitment to national unity.

“The Nigerian people know Atiku Abubakar. They know his record in public service. They know his achievements in business. They know his commitment to national unity and economic reform.

“They know he remains one of the few political leaders whose appeal cuts across ethnicity, religion, geography, and social class.”

The Atiku camp argued that Lawal’s dissatisfaction stemmed not from the conduct of the primary election but from its outcome.

“What appears to have truly unsettled Mr. Lawal is not the conduct of the primaries but the outcome. Democracy guarantees participation, not victory.

“One cannot celebrate democracy when it produces a preferred result and suddenly condemn it as rigged when it does not.”

In one of the statement’s most pointed remarks, the Atiku media office suggested that Lawal’s return to his village farm was fitting given his association with the grass-cutting scandal.

“As for Mr. Lawal’s decision to retreat to his village farm, we sincerely wish him well. Given his enduring association with the grass-cutting scandal that defined his exit from public office, the farm may indeed be a fitting destination.

“There, surrounded by fields in need of trimming, he may finally find the grass-cutting assignment that has become inseparable from his political legacy.”

The statement concluded by insisting that the 2027 election would be decided by Nigerians and not by “tantrums, ethnic dog whistles, recycled grievances, or revisionist history.”

“While others manufacture conspiracies, Atiku Abubakar remains focused on solutions. While others traffic in bitterness, he remains committed to national unity,” the statement added.