‘Beer-parlour tales’ – Atiku dismisses Fayose’s claims of ADC VP talks during Minna visit

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says he did not hold any talks regarding the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential ticket during his recent visit to Niger state, contrary to claims by Ayodele Fayose, ex-governor of Ekiti.

On Tuesday, Abubakar and Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, paid separate visits to Ibrahim Babangida, former military president, at his residence in Minna, Niger state.

Abubakar arrived at Babangida’s residence shortly after 1 p.m. and immediately went into a closed-door meeting with him, while Makinde joined later at about 2:10 p.m.

Though the exact agenda of their discussions with the elder statesman was not disclosed, Abubakar said his visit to Niger was aimed at strengthening ADC structures in the state ahead of the next elections.

However, in a statement on Wednesday, Fayose claimed that Abubakar and Makinde used the Minna meeting to seal an agreement on ADC’s 2027 presidential race.

He said Makinde demanded the ADC vice-presidential ticket as part of the conditions to join the party.

Fayose also alleged that the Oyo governor promised to support the ADC’s “proper take-off with N10 billion” and would release the funds in two tranches.

Fayose claimed that Makinde promised to deliver the south-west delegates and use his wife’s influence to secure votes in the south-south.

But in a statement on Thursday by Phrank Shaibu, his senior special assistant on public communication, Abubakar described Fayose’s claim as “beer-parlour tales of infamy” stitched together for “cheap propaganda”.

He insisted there were no negotiations over vice-presidential ticket at the Minna meeting or discussions about N10 billion contributions.

“There were no zoning manipulations. There were no delegate-delivery guarantees. And there is certainly no clandestine Dubai meeting on any such agenda,” the statement reads.

He said his political engagements are broad-based, principled, and national in scope, devoid of “narrow, transactional theatrics”.

According to the former vice-president, “it is unfortunate that certain individuals, long deprived of credibility, can now attempt to manufacture relevance by inventing tales around serious national figures.”

“Falsehood may trend for a moment, but it collapses under the weight of truth,” he added.

Abubakar added that he does not “transact politics in secrecy, bribery, or transactional desperation, as he remains focused on principled engagement and national redemption”.

He urged the public to disregard Fayose’s statement in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Fayose’s renewed verbal war with Makinde began in December 2025 after the Oyo state governor alleged that Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), once told President Bola Tinubu during a meeting that he would “hold PDP” for the president ahead of the 2027 election without consulting other party stakeholders.

Makinde and Wike were members of the G5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who opposed Abubakar’s presidential bid in the build-up to the 2023 election won by Tinubu.

However, the relationship between Makinde and Wike later turned frosty.

Speaking during a December interview in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, Makinde said he would not support Tinubu’s re-election, citing concerns over the survival of democracy in the country.

But in a separate interview on TVC in late December, Fayose criticised the Oyo governor, asking him to return the N30 billion intervention fund released by the Tinubu government for victims of the January 16, 2024, explosion in Ibadan.

Fayose further alleged that Makinde received N50 billion from the federal government over the explosion, claiming the fund did not go into the coffers of the state government.

However, the Oyo governor, through his media aide, has since dismissed the accusations, insisting that the federal government’s intervention fund remains untouched.(The Cable)