Wike’s Aide Blasts Atiku as ‘Permanent Presidential Runner’

Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, has fired back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for his criticism of the recent local government elections in Rivers State.

Atiku had spoken out against the election results, which saw the All Progressives Congress (APC) win 20 local government areas (LGAs) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secure three. The total number of votes for the winning council chairmen across the 23 LGAs was 2,028,871. Atiku claimed the results were not a true reflection of the will of the Rivers people and accused a “powerful cabal” of attempting to undermine democracy in the state, urging the opposition to reject the outcome.

In a sharp rebuke, Olayinka took to X (formerly Twitter) to dismiss Atiku’s remarks as “nonsensical.” He labeled Atiku a “permanent presidential runner” and questioned his moral authority to comment on the elections, referencing an incident where Atiku allegedly deleted a tweet condemning the murder of Deborah in Sokoto. Olayinka’s post read:

“Permanent Presidential Runner, Atiku Abubakar is condemning Rivers State LG elections. Issorite. The same Atiku, who did a tweet condemning the murder of Deborah in Sokoto, and quickly deleted it? Someone who is not bold, courageous and honest enough to condemn murder that was openly done, is condemning LG elections. Nonsensical Nonsense!”

Olayinka argued that a leader who lacked the courage to condemn a public murder should not be commenting on local elections. His statement highlights the ongoing political tensions between the two camps and adds a new layer to the public discourse surrounding the Rivers State elections.