By Ayo Kehinde
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed claims by former Ekiti State Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose regarding alleged negotiations over vice-presidential tickets, describing the reports as “beer parlour tales of infamy.”
The clarification comes in the wake of Fayose’s allegation that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde had agreed to run as Atiku’s running mate in exchange for a ₦10 billion contribution.
The claim, made in what observers have described as a “malicious fabrication,” followed Atiku and Makinde’s recent visit to the residence of former Head of State Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) in Minna on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
In a statement issued Thursday, February 12, 2026, Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, dismissed the story as “insider fiction” designed to mislead, distract, and provoke the public.
“Our attention has been drawn to a reckless and malicious fabrication titled ‘Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday,’ attributed to one Peter Ayodele Fayose,” Shaibu said.
“Let it be stated clearly: the entire publication is 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.”
The statement emphasized that there were no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets, no discussions about ₦10 billion contributions, and no zoning manipulations. Shaibu further denied the existence of any clandestine “Dubai meeting” on such an agenda.
Atiku emphasized that his political engagements remain “broad-based, principled, and national in scope — not the narrow, transactional theatrics invented in that publication.”
He further advised Nigerians to treat Fayose’s story with the contempt it deserves, noting that “falsehood may trend briefly, but it collapses under the weight of truth.”
The former Vice President, who recently defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reaffirmed his focus on “principled engagement and national redemption,” dismissing any insinuation of secret deals, bribery, or transactional politics.
The meeting in Minna between Atiku and Makinde has sparked significant interest as it suggests a potential reconciliation between the former Vice President and members of the G-5 governors group ahead of the 2027 general elections.
