“While the People Mourn, Tinubu Feasts with the Elite” — Atiku Slams President’s Plateau Visit

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu for attending a social event in Plateau State despite worsening insecurity and violence in the north-central region.

In a statement shared on X by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, on Saturday, Atiku described Tinubu’s presence in Plateau as “deeply unfortunate,” accusing the president of neglecting communities devastated by attacks.

“With large swathes of the country still under siege from unrelenting insecurity and thousands of innocent lives lost, it is deeply unfortunate that President Bola Tinubu has not, for once, found it worthy to visit any of the affected states to commiserate with the grieving citizens,” Atiku said.

He alleged that Tinubu’s visit to Plateau — “one of the most terrorised parts of the North Central” — was not to console victims but to attend a social event linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman.

Atiku described the act as “a sad reflection of priorities and a glaring mockery of leadership,” accusing Tinubu of showing “a heartless exhibition of disregard for empathy, compassion, and the dignity of human life.”

He further condemned the APC-led government for what he called its failure to stand with victims of violence in Benue, Niger, Kwara, and other affected states. According to him, “the entire North Central region has endured some of the most horrific waves of violence in recent history,” yet the federal government has not physically shown solidarity with the victims.

Atiku recalled Tinubu’s visit to Benue in June, claiming that the president avoided Yelewata, the community at the centre of a massacre, and instead concluded his trip in Makurdi. “Now again, he is in Plateau State, not to console the bereaved or reassure the broken, but to celebrate and make merry with his party elite while the people mourn,” he said.

“The message could not be clearer,” Atiku added. “This is a president who would rather feast than feel — a leader who finds pleasure where the people find pain. The Nigerian people are watching — and theyg will remember.”