…Statement: “Beer Parlour Tales of Infamy Portray a Man That Lacks Credibility”
By Franklin Adole
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a blistering rebuttal against former Ekiti State governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose, branding him an irresponsible purveyor of fake news over what he described as a fabricated account of political dealings in Minna.
In a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku dismissed as false and malicious a publication titled “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday,” allegedly authored by Fayose.
The former Vice President described the report as a “reckless and malicious fabrication” and “a shameless concoction — a tissue of lies stitched together by a serial purveyor of political gossip whose relevance survives only on controversy, distortion, and cheap propaganda.”
Atiku’s camp flatly denied claims of any backroom negotiations, financial inducements or power-sharing arrangements as alleged in the report.
“At no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script,” the statement read.
According to the rebuttal, there were no discussions about vice-presidential tickets, no ₦10 billion contributions, no zoning manipulations, no delegate-delivery guarantees, and no clandestine “Dubai meeting” as insinuated in the controversial narrative.
The statement characterised the publication as “beer parlour tales of infamy,” arguing that it portrays Fayose as a man lacking credibility and political gravitas.
“The story is not insider information. It is insider fiction — manufactured to mislead, distract and provoke,” Atiku’s spokesman said.
The former Vice President further asserted that his political engagements remain broad-based, principled and national in scope, not the “narrow, transactional theatrics invented” in the disputed account.
“It is unfortunate that certain individuals, long deprived of credibility and political gravitas, now attempt to manufacture relevance by inventing tales around serious national figures,” the statement added. “Falsehood may trend for a moment, but it collapses under the weight of truth.”
Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s Vice President between 1999 and 2007, insisted that he does not conduct politics through secrecy, bribery or transactional desperation, as allegedly portrayed in the report.
He maintained that his focus remains on “principled engagement and national redemption,” rather than what he described as “backroom theatrics designed by attention-seekers.”
The statement urged members of the public to disregard the publication and “treat it with the contempt it deserves.”