The opposition coalition led by by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the immediate past Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday hit back at the Presidency, saying the defection of Delta Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa and several prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party did not come as a surprise.
A key stakeholder of the coalition and former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress, Mallam Salihu Lukman disclosed this in a statement made available to the PUNCH in Abuja.
Lukman was reacting to Monday’s trolling by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who mocked Atiku, saying his coalition will crumble following the defection of his key allies to the APC.
“Atiku’s political future looks bleak. The coalition that he, El Rufai, Babachir, and new member Baba-Ahmed are cobbling together has disintegrated.
“Potential allies, including former running mate Ifeanyi Okowa and defunct CPC members, are giving his leprous group a wide berth. Atiku is a loser again,” he stated.
Onanuga’s scathing remark was a follow-up to a similar post by a fellow presidential aide, Tunde Rahman, who also derided the PDP, describing the development as “the biggest shocker ever” for Atiku.
Rahman argued that with the PDP governors now aligning with President Bola Tinubu, the coalition was “dead on arrival.”