‘This is jaded ‘aproko’ pettiness,’ Paul Ibe slams Oby Ezekwesili for saying Atiku Abubakar lied about heading economic

Paul Ibe, media adviser to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has tackled Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education, over her comment on social media.

In a tweet on Monday, Abubakar said as the head of the economic management team during his tenure as vice-president, he played a key role in developing strategies to revive the private sector.

Abubakar was vice-president between 1999 and 2007.

“As head of the economic management team, while I was Vice President, I was instrumental in designing a private sector revival strategy and advocated for the opening of the economy for private sector investments in several sectors. And we made tremendous progress,” the tweet reads.

Commenting on the tweet, Ezekwesili cautioned Abubakar against misleading the public, saying the former vice-president was not the head of the economic management team.

“Dear former Vice President Atiku, please ask the handlers of your Twitter account to stop misleading the public. You were never the Head of the Economic Management Team. This absurd Lie do you no good at all. Please ask your Team to stop it.  Happy New Year. Wish you well,” the tweet reads.

But reacting to the comment, Ibe said Abubakar was chairperson of the national economic council and head of the economic management team.

“Dear Oby Ezekwesili, I know it’s political season and people resort to all sorts of antics in support of their preferred candidates. But some things should be considered too low,” he wrote.

“It is established history that Atiku Abubakar as Chairman, National Economic Council, headed the nation’s Economic Management Team between 1999-2007, during which Nigeria had some of her best economic growth.

“In trying and failing to weaken his standing in public, let us not resort to this sort of jaded ‘aproko’ pettiness. If Atiku wasn’t head of the Economic Management Team as VP, so who was? You?

“This matter is a constitutional provision and you will do well either to bury your ignorance or advertise your apparent mischief. Enjoy the rest of your day but not in a bliss of ignorance, madam.”

Dear @obyezeks, I know it’s political season and people resort to all sorts of antics in support of their preferred candidates. But some things should be considered too low. https://t.co/ZUVgG72Ksh

— Paul Ibe (@omonlakiki) January 17, 2023

Checks reveal that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), was the head of the economic management team during the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration when Abubakar was vice-president.