- Atiku Abubakar criticised Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Plateau visit, alleging it had been limited to the airport and failed to reach affected communities
- Atiku, through aide Phrank Shaibu, described the visit as insensitive and claimed it had been hurriedly shortened amid national mourning
- The former vice-president accused the President of politicising the trip, warning that such actions had reflected a pattern of inadequate response to insecurity
FCT, Abuja – Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the handling of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent visit to Plateau State, alleging that the trip did not extend beyond the airport and failed to reach affected communities.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the visit as inadequate in the face of the recent killings in the state.
Source: Twitter
Atiku questions scope of Plateau visit
Atiku expressed concern over what he described as a pattern of limited engagement during national tragedies, stating that the President’s visit fell short of expectations.
“It is both shocking and deeply insensitive that several days after the gruesome killings of innocent citizens, the President’s so-called ‘on-the-spot assessment’ was reduced to a brief stop at the foot of his aircraft, never extending beyond the airport, never reaching the grieving communities, and never touching the pain of the victims,” the statement read.
He further alleged that the visit appeared to have been cut short.
“Even more troubling is the impression that this fleeting visit was hurriedly curtailed to allow the President proceed to Lagos for the Easter holidays, a decision that reflects a deeply troubling prioritisation in the face of national grief,” Atiku said.
Allegations of political undertone
The former vice-president also criticised what he characterised as a politicisation of the visit, alleging that the engagement included meetings with party stakeholders rather than affected victims.
“While families continue to mourn those sl@ughtered on Palm Sunday, the President chose to convert what ought to have been a solemn visit into a political spectacle, meeting party loyalists in Jos under the thin guise of official engagement. This is not leadership; it is indifference dressed as protocol,” he stated.
Comparison with previous visits
Atiku linked the Plateau visit to what he described as a similar approach during a previous condolence trip.
“This approach mirrors his earlier conduct in Benue State in June 2025, when a condolence visit over a deadly attack conspicuously avoided the epicentre in Yelwata, only to devolve into a political rally. The repetition of this pattern is no longer accidental, it is now a consistent and troubling habit,” the statement added.
Concerns over response to insecurity
He also faulted the absence of direct engagement with victims and lack of policy direction during the visit.
“In Plateau, the President neither visited the bereaved families nor the injured receiving treatment in hospitals. He offered no concrete policy direction, no decisive security intervention, and no reassurance that such horrors would not recur,” Atiku said.
The statement further criticised the reported movement of residents for the visit.
Source: Twitter
“At a time when families are in deep mourning, such actions reduce genuine human tragedy to a choreographed spectacle—prioritising optics over empathy and dignity. This is not only inappropriate; it is shameful,” he added.
Call for people-centred governance
Atiku maintained that Nigerians expect more than symbolic visits, urging the administration to prioritise security and welfare.
“Nigerians are not asking for ceremonial appearances or fleeting sympathy visits. What they demand and deserve is a government that can secure lives and property. They do not need to see the President’s face; they need to feel the impact of his leadership,” the statement read.
He concluded by stressing that meaningful action must replace what he described as superficial engagements.
“Until this administration moves beyond optics and embraces decisive, people-centred action, such visits will remain hollow exercises, detached from the very citizens they are meant to comfort,” the statement added.
Jos massacre: Emotional moment Tinubu addresses woman who lost her son
President Bola Tinubu has physically and personally consoled the grieving mother who was seen in a viral video holding on to the lifeless body of her son following the recent killing in Jos, Plateau state capital.
During his condolence visit to the state on Thursday, April 2, President Tinubu addressed the woman by name and referenced the viral video that captured her moment of anguish following the killings in the Angwan Rukuba area on Sunday, March 29.
Source: Legit.ng
