Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been accused of being the architect behind Nigeria’s crippling economy.

Josef Onoh, who served as the spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu in the South East, slammed the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for his comments attacking President Bola Tinubu.

He accused Atiku of allegedly being the cause of the current hardship and poverty in Nigeria by mortgaging the country’s future to companies owned by his cronies and associates, which resulted in the loss of national assets.

Atiku had stated in a statement that Tinubu had mortgaged Nigeria’s future to himself, his family, and associates to the extent that it would be challenging for the country to break free from his influence after he leaves office.

He said, “Just as Alpha Beta, Primero and others act as Tinubu’s proxies in Lagos, managing critical sectors and generating revenue for him and his family, he has begun to replicate this at the federal level.”

In response, Onoh described Atiku as a salesman who oversaw Nigeria’s privatisation programme, leading to the loss of jobs for millions of Nigerians.

He pointed out that Atiku’s comments were deceptive and intended to stir up anger towards the president and his family.

“Let me take His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the world back in time and history of the atrocities of Atiku and how he crippled a nation that President Tinubu with no single fault of his inherited, a nation sitting on dynamite.

“Let’s not forget Atiku was in charge of the economy, and former President Obasanjo gave him free hand until the Galaxy Backbone scandal happened.

“In 2006, the Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi, was acquired by Babalakin’s Resort Ltd., a 15-story prime asset overgrown with weeds, from Atiku and OBJ through a Development Lease Agreement (DLA) for N7.2 billion. A court asked Buhari to pay N54 billion to Babalakin for that blunder,” Onoh stated.