Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo has called on those close to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to seek mental health support for him, following the opposition figure's public rejection of President Bola Tinubu's 30-day petrol price discount.
Legit.ng reports that Keyamo made the remark in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday night, October 9, saying the former vice president was consumed by bitterness over Tinubu's political rise and was showing signs of what the minister described as "agitated depression."
Keyamo's Social Media Attack
Keyamo wrote: "Atiku Abubakar urgently needs mental health support at this critical time as he finally peters out into political oblivion."
The minister offered no medical basis for the claim, and his post did not include any clinical evidence.
Atiku's Criticism of Fuel Discount
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the ADC for the 2027 elections, had spoken at the inauguration of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja on the same day. He described the federal government's 30-day fuel discount as a superficial measure that did nothing to address the broader economic pain Nigerians had endured.
"Thirty days cannot erase three and a half years of hardship. Nigerians have heard your excuses and endured your failed promises. They are ready to judge your record," he said.
Atiku also accused the Tinubu administration of borrowing from an idea he had previously proposed, only to be mocked for it.
"When I proposed targeted support to ease fuel costs, you called me ignorant of economic policy. Your government said it could not be done. Now, in a desperate and clumsy retreat, you have shamelessly embraced the principle you mocked. You owe me an apology," he added.
He went on to outline his own alternative, calling for government support to be limited to petroleum products refined and sold locally in Nigeria, with the intervention capped, included in the national budget and independently audited.
Keyamo's Political Comparison
In his reply, Keyamo traced the political trajectories of both Tinubu and Atiku after each left office in 2007, Tinubu as Lagos governor and Atiku as vice president. He noted that at the time, Atiku was widely seen as the more likely presidential contender of the two. Tinubu, the minister argued, eventually won the presidency on his first attempt, while Atiku had chased the ambition across several election cycles without success.
Keyamo cited Ecclesiastes 9:11 to reinforce his point that political outcomes are not purely determined by strength or skill, and suggested Atiku's public criticism of the president reflected personal frustration rather than genuine policy concern.
The exchange reflects the sharpening political tension as Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 elections, with the cost of living and the government's economic record remaining central points of dispute between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition figures.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that ChatGPT predicted that the APC would likely win Nigeria's 2027 presidential election, using the Four Horsemen framework. It cited the opposition coalition but said the APC had the edge due to possible low voter turnout and the Tinubu administration's efforts to stabilise the economy.
