Presidential Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga has publicly called out former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for remaining silent nearly 18 hours after the release of the abducted Oriire schoolchildren and teachers, despite having repeatedly criticised the Federal Government over the abduction while the victims remained in captivity.
When the children were taken, Atiku Abubakar had plenty to say. When they came home, he said nothing.
That contradiction is exactly what Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga seized upon on Saturday, publicly calling out the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for his conspicuous silence in the hours following the rescue of all the abducted Oriire pupils and teachers.
In a post on his X handle, Onanuga noted that nearly 18 hours had passed since the victims regained their freedom — and Atiku had not issued a single word of acknowledgement.
“Almost 18 hours after the Oriire pupils and their teachers regained their freedom, Atiku Abubakar has not deemed it fit to rejoice with the Tinubu Federal Government, the security agencies and the traumatised victims,” Onanuga wrote.
The aide pointed out that Atiku had “weaponised the kidnap as a campaign issue several times” across the 57 days the victims spent in captivity, repeatedly hammering the Federal Government over its handling of the crisis.
The sudden quiet after the rescue drew a pointed observation from Onanuga. “Maybe the veteran presidential runner is waiting for some bad news to attack the Tinubu administration,” he said.
In a notable contrast, Onanuga offered a measured compliment to NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi, acknowledging that Obi had responded to the rescue by calling for thanksgiving — even though the former Anambra governor stopped short of directly commending President Tinubu.
The Presidency’s decision to publicly distinguish between Atiku’s silence and Obi’s response reflects a deliberate political framing — crediting those who acknowledged the rescue outcome while highlighting those who did not, as the administration seeks to extract maximum political capital from the successful operation that ended a 57-day national crisis.
Atiku had not publicly responded to Onanuga’s remarks as of the time of filing this report.
NEWS NOW:
