Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fired back at Vice President Kashim Shettima, dismissing a public challenge regarding his scorecard in office.
Atiku stated he would not dignify the request with a response, claiming that Mr Shettima’s approach is disrespectful to him and an affront to cultural values in Northern Nigeria.
The controversy stems from reports that Mr Shettima challenged Atiku to name eight projects he executed for the development of Northern Nigeria during his eight-year tenure as vice president, as well as eight individuals he empowered while in office.
Responding in an interview on Sunday with the GTA Hausa podcast, anchored by Yusuf Harande, Atiku argued that his seniority and extensive experience in the civil service place him above such confrontations with Mr Shettima.
“I will not respond to Kashim Shettima because he is disrespectful. I am older than him, and I have more experience in governance than he does, so I will not respond to him,” Atiku said.
The former vice president further contended that Northern Nigerian cultural values discourage younger individuals from publicly challenging their elders.
“It is not part of our tradition in the North to disrespect elders. You cannot look at someone who is senior to you in both age and accomplishments and start taunting him. That is not our tradition, so I won’t engage with him,” Atiku added.
Atiku served as Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo. A founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he served as head of the National Council on Privatisation, which oversaw the sale of hundreds of state-owned enterprises during the early 2000s.
Atiku’s political career is defined by his persistent pursuit of the presidency. He has contested for the office multiple times in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2019, and 2023 from different party platforms, including the Action Congress (AC), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the PDP.
