Former Vice President and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Atiku Abubakar has denied hosting political meetings in Dubai ahead of the 2019 general election.
He said his present preoccupation was the success of the country’s APC-led administration.
Atiku, in a statement by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, said enemies of democracy and the country were trying to create distrust between him and President Muhammadu Buhari to distract the government from achieving its set objectives.
The former vice president asked those he described as political mischief-makers and enemies of unity to allow him enjoy his peace and desist from sinister propaganda designed to draw a wedge between him and Buhari.
Atiku, who was reacting to insinuations alleging that he held political meetings at Burj Al-Arab, Dubai, explained that contrary to the rumours, he was in Dubai with his family for physiotherapy on his injured knee.
He maintained that he was embarrassed by the deliberate falsehoods being spread against him by political opponents who, he added, were bent on causing distraction for Buhari at a time all energies should be channelled into helping the President actualise his change agenda.
Describing those spreading the rumour as “ill-motivated busybodies that don’t wish the country well”, he explained that his medical treatment was his private affair, which should not be politicised by anybody to achieve sinister objectives.
He said he was entitled to enjoy his private life, including the right to attend to his health, without being harassed and lied against.
The Turaki added that contrary to insinuations by political opponents, the success of the Buhari administration had been his preoccupation.
He noted that any true APC member should have the same zeal.
According to him, rumour mongers seeking to cause distrust and distraction in Buhari’s government did not mean well for the APC administration, adding that with the challenges of providing good governance for the country and creating jobs for Nigerians, including reducing the impact of poverty, the President needed all the goodwill and support.
“Whether at home or abroad, the Turaki is preoccupied with his unassailable support to President Buhari and his administration, especially in this critical time, as it works assiduously to turn the fortunes of our dear country around and make Nigeria work for Nigerians.”