Tinubu's presidency ‘hiding behind Buhari’s coffin’ – Atiku’s aide slams Onanuga

Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communications to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu’s media team, accusing it of attempting to shift focus from governance failures by targeting the legacy of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a strongly worded statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Shaibu responded to remarks by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, alleging a subtle campaign to discredit Buhari’s tenure.

“Bayo Onanuga, this is how low the Tinubu presidency has sunk: fighting ghosts because it can’t face Nigerians. Blaming a dead man, because the living one in Aso Rock is clueless,” Shaibu wrote.

He questioned why Tinubu’s administration would attack Buhari if his influence was truly insignificant.

“If Buhari was so irrelevant, why is your presidency still trembling at his shadow and his 12 million votes?” he asked.

According to Shaibu, Tinubu has already failed “in record time,” with his “renewed hope” agenda now amounting to “renewed hunger.”

He described the administration as one overwhelmed by insecurity and economic hardship, stating it “can’t tame inflation, can’t stop the naira from bleeding, can’t keep the lights on or salaries paid, but has time to launch a PR war against a dead man.”

He condemned the alleged attacks on Buhari, calling them cowardly and calculated.

“No presidential aide attacks a former head of state, who isn’t even buried, without clearance from the top,” Shaibu claimed.

He demanded that President Tinubu prove his disapproval of the comments by sacking Onanuga immediately.

“Otherwise, Nigerians will know this isn’t just indiscipline — it’s a cowardly hit job signed by the President himself,” he warned.