The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed as “reckless and malicious fabrication” claims by former Ekiti State Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose that a recent meeting in Minna between Atiku and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde involved horse-trading over a vice-presidential slot for the 2027 elections.
In a strongly worded statement issued Thursday in Abuja, Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, described Fayose’s publication titled “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday” as a “tissue of lies” authored by a “serial purveyor of political gossip.”
Shaibu categorically denied the allegations, stating:
“At no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script.
There were no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets. There were no discussions about ₦10 billion contributions. There were no zoning manipulations. There were no delegate-delivery guarantees. And there is certainly no clandestine ‘Dubai meeting’ on any such agenda.”
He described the claims as “insider fiction” created by individuals desperate for political relevance through controversy and distortion.
Shaibu argued that attempting to drag other political actors into the narrative only exposed the desperation behind it and did not add credibility.
“His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s political engagements are broad-based, principled, and national in scope — not the narrow, transactional theatrics invented in that publication,” he added.
The aide emphasized that Atiku does not conduct politics through secrecy, bribery, or transactional desperation, but remains committed to national redemption rather than “backroom theatrics.”
The statement comes in response to Fayose’s earlier claims linking the closed-door meeting with former military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) in Minna to alleged 2027 election arrangements involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) or other political platforms.
Related developments include separate reports of Atiku and Makinde’s visits to Babangida, as well as Atiku’s recent call for opposition unity on electronic transmission of election results.
