In a statement issued today by his media aide, by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Lawal abandoned facts and evidence in favour of ethnic profiling and prejudice.
According to the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), no Nigerian should be judged based on the actions of a few individuals who share the same ancestry.
He said: “At no point did Mr. Lawal object to receiving such trust and elevation from a Fulani President. He accepted the office, the privileges, and the prestige that came with it. It is therefore difficult to understand why he now seeks to stigmatise an entire ethnic group merely because another Fulani man seeks the presidency through democratic means.
“Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: which Babachir should they believe? The Babachir who claims to be a victim of political conspiracies and ethnic domination, or the Babachir who boasts that governors are scrambling for his services?
“One moment, he presents himself as a lonely patriot standing against an imagined threat to Nigeria. The next moment, he portrays himself as a prized political asset being courted by powerful governors. Such contradictions expose a man struggling to reconcile personal disappointment with political reality.”
The former vice president dismissed allegations that he had remained silent on acts of violence across the country.
Atiku said he has consistently condemned terrorism, banditry, kidnappings and communal violence regardless of the identities of the victims.
“Leadership is not about counting tribes or measuring faith. It is about standing with people in moments of difficulty regardless of their ethnic or religious identity. That has always been my approach and it will continue to be,” he said.
The former vice-president also cited scholarships facilitated for some of the released Chibok schoolgirls through his private higher institution, the American University of Nigeria.
“Those young women are living proof that compassion is more powerful than bitterness and that nation-building requires action, not merely rhetoric. While some people chose to exploit national tragedies for political narratives, others chose to invest in healing and hope,” he said.
He added: “Nigeria deserves a conversation about the future, not endless bitterness about the past. Our people deserve leaders who unite rather than divide, heal rather than inflame, and build rather than destroy.”
“Babachir may see tribe. I see Nigerians. Babachir may see division. I see a nation that must come together if it is to overcome its present challenges. That is the difference between politics driven by resentment and leadership driven by purpose.”