Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has insisted that the outcome of the 2023 presidential election was manipulated by the All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming that he won the ballot.
  
But APC described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) former presidential candidate’s relentless condemnation of Tinubu’s policies as hypocrisy taken too far .
 
While lamenting the untold hardship in the country, Atiku had said he would have done better if he had been declared President in the 2023 general elections.
He insisted that the outcome of the 2023 presidential election was manipulated by the APC.
 
In a swift response, Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, said Nigeria would have been worse off if Atiku had won. Onanuga mocked Atiku, saying Nigerians rejected him by voting for Tinubu.
 
Atiku alleged, “Let me emphasise that the citizens, who cast their votes in the 2023 presidential election were well aware that I did not lose; rather, we find ourselves in this predicament because the election was criminally stolen from the Nigerian people. ”
 
He lamented, “Like many fellow Nigerians, I firmly believe that we find ourselves in this economic turmoil due to the Tinubu administration’s hasty ascent to power, devoid of a coherent plan.”

In stark contrast, my team not only devised a comprehensive recovery plan but also welcomed significant input from Nigerians, ensuring that our approach was inclusive and well-considered.
 
“Isn’t it fascinating how the so-called ‘tested’ Tinubu administration’s only policy response seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the National Security Adviser (NSA), just 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions! What a bold strategy! In my humble interpretation of the scriptures, prayer indeed serves as a noble path to follow. However, the sacred texts also counsel us to engage in diligent labour and hard work.”

On the controversial tax reform bills proposed by the President, Atiku said, “We cannot hope to tax our way out of the economic quagmire wrought by these misguided experimental policies of a novice administration.
 
“Nations, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Monaco (an EU territory with a zero-income tax policy), among others, have emerged as economic powerhouses by fostering growth through lower taxation. Why then are we fixated on inflicting further hardship upon an already struggling populace?” According to him, one can only speculate that “Tinubu’s government is anchored to a mere tea plan, which can only lead to a T-pain.”

ALSO, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, APC argued that Atiku’s antagonistic posture was not only politically-motivated but hypocrisy taken too far.
 
Urging Nigerians to double down on their support for Tinubu’s administration, the party expressed confidence that despite “the transient economic pains” associated with the reforms, lasting gains, and better and brighter days were ahead for all.
 
APC argued that Atiku’s policy prescription was a disappointing rehash of the same old disastrous policy approaches that brought the country to its knees, to begin with, under the PDP’s long rule. 
 
It contended that Atiku’s policy offering starkly failed to acknowledge complex contradictions, past mistakes and the extreme urgency of the moment.