The political camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed claims by former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose suggesting secret political negotiations involving Atiku, describing them as false, malicious, and deliberately misleading, Dip Connect Online News reports.
Fayose had alleged that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State agreed to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on the condition that he would secure the vice-presidential ticket for Atiku in the 2027 general elections. The claim was made in a statement titled “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday”, posted on Fayose’s verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday.
According to Fayose, Makinde met with Atiku in Minna, Niger State, on Tuesday in a carefully arranged meeting involving select individuals “to ensure confidence and acceptability.”
Responding on Thursday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the report as a “reckless and malicious fabrication” and a “shameless concoction”. Shaibu categorically denied any involvement of Atiku in political horse-trading, secret bargaining, or negotiations as alleged.
“At no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script,” Shaibu said.
The spokesperson specifically refuted claims regarding:
Negotiations over a vice-presidential ticket
Alleged ₦10 billion contributions
Zoning arrangements
Delegate-delivery guarantees
Any clandestine meeting in Dubai
“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,” Shaibu added.
Shaibu accused Fayose of attempting to drag other political actors into a fabricated narrative to provoke controversy and mislead the public.
“The story is not insider information. It is insider fiction manufactured to mislead, distract, and provoke. His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s political engagements are broad-based, principled, and national in scope not the narrow, transactional theatrics invented in that publication,” Shaibu said.
The statement concluded by urging Nigerians to disregard the report, emphasizing that the former Vice President does not engage in secretive or transactional politics:
“We advise the public to treat the publication with the contempt it deserves.”
Elijah Adeyemi
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