“It’s Not My Fault You Can’t Read’ — Atiku Replies Tinubu, Defends Privatisation Record

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has responded to recent remarks by President Bola Tinubu about his involvement in Nigeria’s privatisation programme.

KanyiDaily recalls that Tinubu had earlier criticised Atiku, accusing him of trying to privatise the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and questioning the success of the reforms he supervised while in office.

Reacting in a statement on Friday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described Tinubu’s comments as baseless and inconsistent.

He said the remarks showed a pattern of hypocrisy, noting that Tinubu had once opposed similar reforms he is now implementing.

Shaibu defended Atiku’s record, pointing to several companies he said are still performing well today as a result of the privatisation programme.

“Atiku Abubakar’s attention has been drawn to the latest reckless tirade by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu — a performance that exposes not just desperation, but a troubling pattern of hypocrisy and historical amnesia,” the statement read.

The statement pointed to a string of companies — including Oando Plc, Conoil Plc, Ardova Plc, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Benue Cement Company, and Transcorp Hilton Abuja — as enduring proof of the success of the privatisation programme Atiku supervised.

Shaibu went further to criticise the current administration, alleging that the national oil company has been commercialised “in opacity — without clear valuation, without transparency, and with lingering questions about who truly benefits. This is not reform; it is privatisation without accountability.

The statement also questioned Tinubu’s criticisms, suggesting that a better understanding of past reforms would have provided more context.

“It is not our fault that the President does not and cannot read, because Bola Tinubu has a history of attending a school in Lagos two years before it was founded, upon which he claimed his… Chicago State University degree.

“If he were properly educated, he would have acquainted himself with the privatisation records in the presidency or the painstaking account of these reforms as captured by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai in The Accidental Public Servant, where the privatisation programme was clearly documented as a bold and structured effort to dismantle inefficiency and drive private sector-led growth,” the statement added.

Shaibu further condemned the tone of the president’s comments, saying they relied more on mockery than facts.

He argued that many Nigerians are currently facing economic hardship, with rising inflation affecting household incomes and forcing businesses to shut down.

“The president’s attempt to reduce a serious economic legacy to playground ridicule only underscores a deeper problem: a leadership more comfortable with insults than with facts.

“Across the country, families are skipping meals, businesses are shutting their doors, and hard-working citizens are watching their incomes evaporate under the weight of relentless inflation and a collapsing purchasing power.

“What has been marketed as reform has translated into hardship without relief — policies that bite harder each day while offering no clear path to recovery.

“A leader who has not fully resolved questions about his own background should exercise restraint before casting aspersions on others. Nigerians are watching,” said Shaibu.

KanyiDaily recalls President Bola Tinubu he is not scared of the opposition, particularly the African Democratic Congress (ADC), as the 2027 elections approach.