‘Atiku Is Intellectually Malnourished’- Shettima Fires Opposition Candidates

Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has described former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as ‘intellectually malnourished’ over his position on the removal of the fuel subsidy, while also declaring that Peter Obi has become politically irrelevant.

Naija News reports that Shettima made the remarks on Saturday during President Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign in the Ikwerre area of Rivers State.

The vice president accused Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, of listening to what he called ‘voodoo economists’ who advised him to restore fuel subsidy.

He also took a swipe at Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, claiming that he had lost his political relevance.

Shettima further accused opposition figures of trying to damage Tinubu’s image instead of recognising what he described as the president’s achievements.

He said, “Winston Churchill, the onetime British Prime Minister, once said truth is so precious that it has to be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies; hence, it’s not only amazing but to define as heartbreaking that political charlatans on the other side of the divide are making efforts to demonise President Tinubu instead of celebrating him.

“ Atiku Abubakar, with a certificate in hygiene from a Kano School, is intellectually malnourished and was ill-advised by some voodoo economist to restore fuel subsidy, and my friend, Peter Obi, has gone into political irrelevance.”

The vice president also defended Tinubu’s economic policies, describing the president as a decent man who took difficult decisions to prevent the country’s economy from collapsing.

According to him, Nigeria was close to economic collapse when Tinubu assumed office about three and a half years ago.

Shettima said the president chose to address the challenges instead of pushing them forward or blaming his predecessor.

He added, “I dare say without any fear that Tinubu is a decent man. When he attained the mantle of leadership some three and a half years ago, our economy was on the verge of collapse; we were on our way to Kinshasa.

“Instead of kicking the ball down the road, instead of demonising his predecessor, the president had the moral courage and conviction to take the bull by the horns.”