Former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is using the recent order withdrawing police escorts from VIPs as a political tool to target former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Momodu, who made the allegations in a statement on his verified X account on Tuesday, said he immediately smelt a rat when the escort withdrawal policy was announced, claiming that a dummy list was first circulated by presidential aides to gauge public reaction.
The publisher of Ovation Magazine stated that Tinubu’s spin doctors released a dummy list of those affected by the sudden and thoughtless decision to test the waters.
According to him, it quickly became clear to him that Atiku, who constitutionally retains security protection as a former vice president, was one of the administration’s main targets.
“They deliberately included the most unlikely names like Tinubu’s hatchet man, Nyesom Wike, Tinubu’s Chief campaigner in 2023 Aisha Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and others.
“I predicted correctly that the evil list would be disowned and denounced as fake within 24 hours, and it came to pass,” he said, adding that his position was based on his “deep knowledge of Tinubu’s antics, mindset and modus operandi,” he said.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC chieftain cautioned that the move could endanger prominent Nigerians and escalate insecurity, arguing that many VIPs legitimately require protection in a climate of increasing criminal activity.
He described the decision as dangerous, gravely unprecedented, and preposterously myopic, arguing that if the intention were genuine, the administration could have used the moment to create a model that allows wealthy Nigerians fund expanded police recruitment.