Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Plateau State, calling it insensitive amid rising insecurity in the region.
Tinubu attended the funeral of Lydia Yilwatda, mother of Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, the Plateau APC chairman. The event took place in Jos on Saturday.
Atiku wrote on his X handle that he was disappointed by the Tinubu visit to Plateau State, describing it as a “political funeral” at a time when communities across Nigeria mourn victims of terrorism.
“With large swathes of the country still under siege from unrelenting insecurity and thousands of innocent lives lost, it is deeply unfortunate that President Bola Tinubu has not, for once, found it worthy to visit any of the affected states to commiserate with the grieving citizens,” Atiku said.
He added, “Today, however, the President suddenly remembered Plateau State, one of the most terrorized parts of the North Central, not to share in the people’s pain, but to attend a social event under the auspices of his party’s national chairman.”
Atiku argued that Tinubu’s visit to Plateau State showed “a lack of empathy for victims of insecurity.” He said the President’s decision to attend a funeral in such a conflict-torn region mocked the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.
“It is a sad reflection of priorities and a glaring mockery of leadership that while families in Plateau continue to bury their loved ones, President Tinubu chose to grace a political funeral rather than stand with the people in their darkest hour,” he stated.
According to Atiku, the APC leadership continues to ignore the human toll of violence. “Between the APC National Chairman and his President, what we witnessed today is a heartless exhibition of disregard for empathy, compassion, and the dignity of human life,” he added.
Atiku cited widespread violence across Benue, Niger, and Kwara States, accusing the government of failing to visit or comfort affected families. He recalled Tinubu’s symbolic trip to Benue in June but noted that “he never bothered to set foot in Yelewata, the epicentre of the massacre.”
“Now again, he is in Plateau State, not to console the bereaved or reassure the broken, but to celebrate and make merry with his party elite while the people mourn,” Atiku said.
He concluded, “The message could not be clearer: this is a President who would rather feast than feel; a leader who finds pleasure where the people find pain. The Nigerian people are watching, and they will remember.”
