The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed the claims of engaging in a negotiation with the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over a Vice-Presidential ticket.
Naija News reports that Fayose accused Makinde of plotting to be the running mate of Atiku in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while reacting to a meeting held on Tuesday in Niger State between the former Vice President, Makinde and former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Ekiti former governor said Makinde promised to divide the vote of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the Southwest and also deliver Rivers State votes for Atiku.
According to Fayose, Makinde said he would release 10 billion naira for the opposition party, promising to make more funds available when the campaign starts.
However, Atiku, in a statement, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described Fayose’s statement as a shameless concoction, a distortion, and cheap propaganda.
Atiku stated that at no time did he engage in the imaginary horse trading, negotiations over vice presidential tickets, or ₦10 billion contributions.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) maintained that he does not conduct politics in secrecy, bribery, or transactional desperation, as mischievously and irresponsibly portrayed, and urged the public to disregard the publication.
The statement read, “Peter Ayodele Fayose’s Beer Parlour Tales Of Infamy
“Our attention has been drawn to a reckless and malicious fabrication titled “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday,” attributed to one Peter Ayodele Fayose.
“Let it be stated clearly: the entire publication is a shameless concoction, a tissue of lies stitched together by a serial purveyor of political gossip whose relevance survives only on controversy, distortion, and cheap propaganda.
“At no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script. There were no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets. There were no discussions about ₦10 billion contributions. There were no zoning manipulations. There were no delegate-delivery guarantees. And there is certainly no clandestine “Dubai meeting” on any such agenda.
“The attempt to drag other political actors into this fabricated beer parlour tale does not elevate its credibility; it merely exposes the desperation behind it. His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s political engagements are broad-based, principled, and national in scope, not the narrow, transactional theatrics invented in that publication.
“The story is not insider information. It is insider fiction manufactured to mislead, distract, and provoke. It is unfortunate that certain individuals, long deprived of credibility and political gravitas, now attempt to manufacture relevance by inventing tales around serious national figures. Falsehood may trend for a moment, but it collapses under the weight of truth.
“Atiku Abubakar does not transact politics in secrecy, bribery, or transactional desperation as mischievously and irresponsibly portrayed. He remains focused on principled engagement and national redemption — not backroom theatrics designed by attention-seekers. We advise the public to treat the publication with the contempt it deserves.”
