The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for attending a funeral in Plateau State while ignoring communities devastated by violence and insecurity across the country.
President Tinubu was in Jos on Saturday to attend the burial of Mama Lydia Yilwatda, mother of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda. During the service, the president called on Nigerians to embrace peace, unity, and tolerance by rising above ethnic and religious divides.
But Atiku, in a post shared on his official X handle, described the president’s trip as “a sad reflection of priorities and a mockery of leadership.” He said it was disappointing that the president chose to honour a social event connected to the APC chairman instead of visiting families of victims of ongoing violence in the North Central region.
“With large swathes of the country still under siege from unrelenting insecurity and thousands of innocent lives lost, it is deeply unfortunate that President Bola Tinubu has not, for once, found it worthy to visit any of the affected states to commiserate with the grieving citizens,” the former Vice President wrote.
He accused Tinubu of demonstrating “insensitivity and a lack of compassion,” arguing that the president’s conduct reflected disregard for empathy and the sanctity of life.
“Between the APC National Chairman and his President, what we witnessed today is a heartless exhibition of disregard for empathy, compassion, and the dignity of human life,” Atiku said.
The PDP chieftain recalled that states such as Benue, Niger, and Kwara had endured repeated attacks without any presidential condolence visit. He also cited Tinubu’s June trip to Benue, where “he never bothered to set foot in Yelewata, the epicentre of the massacre.”
“Now again, he is in Plateau State, not to console the bereaved or reassure the broken, but to celebrate and make merry with his party elite while the people mourn,” Atiku added. “The message could not be clearer: this is a President who would rather feast than feel — a leader who finds pleasure where the people find pain.”
Atiku warned that Nigerians were taking note of the president’s actions. “The people are watching, and they will remember,” he concluded.
