- Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of using “Nigeria First” as a public relations stunt lacking true patriotic intent
- He urged the President and ministers to ditch luxury foreign vehicles for Nigerian-made cars to support local industry
- Atiku called on Tinubu to vacation within Nigeria and receive medical care locally to set an example of true economic self-reliance
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has issued a pointed challenge to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to lead by example by exchanging his luxury Cadillac Escalade for a Nigerian-made vehicle if he truly believes in the newly unveiled “Nigeria First” policy.
In a statement released on Wednesday, May 7, by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku criticised the administration’s latest policy as “another tired public relations stunt”, accusing the government of making empty gestures rather than taking concrete steps towards genuine patriotism and economic self-reliance.
“The Tinubu administration’s latest ‘Nigeria First’ mantra, paraded through the Federal Executive Council, is nothing but another tired PR stunt designed to deceive, not deliver,” the statement read.
Atiku questioned the sincerity of the government’s commitment to local content, stating that true leadership must begin at the top. He challenged President Tinubu to abandon imported luxury cars in favour of locally manufactured brands such as Innoson or Nord.
“That single act will do more to promote local industry than a thousand policy memos, Let’s see the ministers those shameless Rolls-Royce connoisseurs sweat it out in Nigerian-made vehicles too. Or is ‘Nigeria First’ only for the masses?” he said.
The former Vice President further criticised what he described as double standards within the presidency, calling on Tinubu to choose domestic tourism destinations over trips to Paris or London.
He suggested that the President should spend his vacations at local attractions like Obudu Cattle Ranch, Yankari Game Reserve, or Erin Ijesha Waterfalls to truly embody patriotic values.
Atiku also took aim at the practice of overseas medical treatment by Nigeria’s leaders, calling it hypocritical in light of their advocacy for self-reliance.
He demanded that the President henceforth receive medical care at reputable Nigerian hospitals such as LUTH, National Hospital Abuja, UCH Ibadan, or the Akwa Ibom Specialist Hospital in Uyo.
“If these hospitals are good enough for ordinary Nigerians, they should be good enough for their Commander-in-Chief. Anything less is sheer hypocrisy,” the statement further stated.
Bode George urges Atiku Abubakar to step aside for younger leadership in PDP
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Chief Bode George, the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called on Atiku Abubakar, the party's presidential candidate in the 2023 election, to abandon any plans of running for president again in 2027.
In a video that surfaced online, George urged Atiku to step aside and allow younger candidates to take the lead, emphasising that Nigeria needed fresh ideas and faces in the political arena.
