The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, replied yesterday to the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kashim Shettima, who had dismissed the former vice president as a mere "bottled water seller" at a function in Lagos on Tuesday, saying it is shameful that the ex-Borno State governor would vilify a business that employs a large chunk of people in the North-east.

Atiku said the statement directed at him was not only irresponsible but also disrespectful.

In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku told the former governor of Borno State and current senator for Borno Central that politics "does not confer the licence to be reckless" on anyone. He asked Shettima to apologise to Nigerians in the employ of Atiku.

In another statement, Director of Strategic Communication for the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Momodu, queried Shettima’s statement that Atiku could not unite Nigeria when "he has not united his own political party."

Momodu said Atiku remained one of the most important contributors to the Nigerian economy.

Atiku said in the statement by Ibe: "Any business that produces products, creates jobs, and delivers dividends, especially in this era of the APC administration when the country is bleeding, is an asset and should not be mocked."

"It is irrelevant if it is a small business or a big business. And for Shettima, it is more shameful that he will denigrate a going business that employs a large chunk of people in the North-East region.

"Even Atiku’s opponents have acknowledged his business resume that has seen him engaged in businesses covering farming, animal feed, beverages, banking, logistics, polymer and plastics, education, among others, employing thousands directly and hundreds of thousands indirectly."

The former vice president, who was particularly irked by Shettima’s comments that he (Atiku) would soon be retired to Dubai, said from the statements, "It is indicative that the Tinubu-Shettima administration will be anti-entrepreneurship and business."

"It is with utter dismay that we listened to the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, and his running mate talk condescendingly about other presidential candidates at a gathering that they invited members of the private sector to on Tuesday.

"The remarks from the candidates of the APC show gross irresponsibility and disrespectfulness. One would have thought that the duo would use the advantage of such a gathering to talk about solutions that their party, APC, has foisted on the country. Rather, they went on the "ultra-highway of political indecency."

Atiku said Shettima should apologise to Nigerian workers, especially the thousands who benefit from Atiku’s businesses, for his statement, stressing that "politics does not confer on anyone the licence to make irresponsible statements."

The PDP candidate for president said that a meeting of the top people in the private sector was supposed to be a way to talk about important policy decisions.

"On the contrary, for Tinubu and Shettima, they chose to embarrass their guests, using their audience to play vile political games," Atiku said.

He added, "For someone who self-appoints as the APC national leader, it is ridiculous that the presidential candidate of the APC failed to proffer solutions to the economic woes that his party has foisted on Nigerians in the past seven years."

"Unlike Tinubu, who sat idly by and watched his APC ruin Nigeria to its current sorry state, the presidential candidate of the PDP has been consistent in offering solutions to the myriads of ineffective policy options of the APC administration.

Atiku was the one who first raised the alarm about the debt burden that the APC has thrown Nigeria into. It was also Atiku, who has continued to call the attention of the nation to the need to diversify the economy away from heavy dependence on the exploration of crude oil.

Atiku, again, was the one who said the quickest path to lift the majority of Nigerians out of the poverty belt is for the government to give incentives to the private sector in order for them to create more jobs for Nigerians.

"Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Atiku pioneered the private donor relief funds, which opened the gateway for other Nigerians of means to follow suit in providing succour to those who were worst hit by the attendant self-isolation regulation in the management of the pandemic."

"Tinubu, who has been in hibernation mode for the seven years that his party unleashed the worst moment of economic hardship on Nigerians, has suddenly found a voice, because as is usual with the APC, the time is here again to hoodwink the people with sugar-coated promises."

Atiku also said in the statement, "We, therefore, wish to remind the APC and their presidential candidate that, unlike them, the PDP and Atiku are promise keepers. Unlike the APC and Tinubu, Atiku has not waited for when elections are around the corner to espouse solutions to the challenges facing the country.

"Unlike APC and Tinubu, Atiku’s position on the pathway to the economic recovery of Nigeria has remained consistent, as have his views about restructuring, education, national inclusivity, and engendering healthy national security."

"Unlike Tinubu and his APC, Nigerians know that Atiku and the PDP are more credible to deliver on their manifesto. It is a shame and, indeed, a source of embarrassment to all supporters of the APC that their national leader, who self-professes to be brilliant on the economy, prefers to be the chief priest at the APC altar, where Nigeria’s economy was brought to comatose.

Another statement by Momodu said, "It is our belief that Alhaji Shettima, in a moment of deliberate amnesia, must have tried to point fingers at the specks in another man’s eyes while studiously ignoring the giant logs in his own eyes."

"The APC is in total disarray, with prominent members of his party openly apologising to Nigerians for the unmitigated disaster it has foisted on Nigeria since 2015.

"This is one of the reasons APC members have been migrating in droves to the PDP. It took almost forever for APC to achieve the seemingly simple task of constituting its presidential campaign council, due to the total lack of unity in their party.

"It is very obvious that APC has become completely rudderless, and many self-respecting members are jumping ship and being recovered by PDP. "How can these APC candidates ever unite Nigerians when they’ve shown open disdain for the democratic and voting rights of certain ethnic groups within their domains?"

The director of strategic communication for the PDP presidential campaign alleged, "Everything about the APC and its candidates has been shrouded in secrecy, and they are just unable to tell Nigerians the truth about anything. How can Nigerians be expected to place their faith in such mysterious characters?

"Alhaji Shettima alleged that Atiku Abubakar cannot be trusted with the economy of Nigeria. No heresy could be worse than this.

"Nigerians would want to know what businesses the APC candidates have managed personally and successfully, except living outlandishly on government booty and largesse."

Momodu said Atiku started his business as a teenager and served meritoriously as a government officer in the Customs, where he assisted many Igbo traders, according to available testimonies.

He stated, "In Atiku’s private life, he remains one of the biggest employers of labour in Nigeria. He has brought jobs to Nigerians instead of shipping them out. How can APC be expected to guarantee the safety of lives and properties when, right under the watch of Alhaji Shettima as Governor of Borno State, Boko Haram became an intractable menace and Nigeria is yet to fully recover till this day?

"PDP is extremely proud of its antecedents, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governor Ifeanyichukwu Okowa are fully ready to recover Nigeria from the hands of the most incompetent leaders in the history of Nigeria."