Ex-VP can't win election even in his local government area, says Lauretta

President Muhammadu Buharis Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, has dismissed the chances of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, of

While speaking on Channels Television on Sunday, December 3, 2017, the presidential aide said the former Vice President's political influence in the country has diminished over the years so much that he won't pose a threat to President Buhari.

When she was asked if she thinks Atiku will be the president's biggest nightmare in 2019, she replied, "Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He may have had that weight some years ago, but over the years, he's been losing that weight and at the moment, I can tell you that even his local government area in his native Adamawa that he can't even win any election in that area."

Lauretta also dismissed Atiku's claims that the president has lost the people's goodwill that swept him to victory at the 2015 presidential polls. She said the president will not shift focus from governance to give time for mudslinging with the former Vice President.

She said, "I think Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has lost touch with reality. I think he needs to check again. President Buhari is not competing with him at the moment.

"What he's trying to do is to pull President Buhari out of the good work he's doing and to come to wallow in the mud with him.

"President Buhari is very busy trying to repair the damage that PDP did for 16 years to this nation. He is busy with the job of governance and trying to ease the pains that Nigerians have been passing (through) over the past 16 to 17 years.

"The president also knows that the ban on politics has not been lifted so he's not going to come out to wallow in the mud."

Lauretta further denied Atiku's claim that the president was denied entry into the United States for 15 years due to "religious considerations".

While pointing out that the presidency has already provided an official response to the allegation, she said, "It appears that only Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has heard of the ban. I think he needs to substantiate his claim."