2023: Reuben Abati reacts to Atiku’s wife asking Nigerians to vote APC

Amid the ongoing public uproar that has greeted the public gaffe suffered by Mrs. Titi Abubakar, the wife of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar while urging Nigerians to vote for her husband in the upcoming presidential elections, veteran journalist and public affairs analyst, Dr. Reuben Abati has come out to share his thoughts on the incident.

Recall that over the weekend, the country’s media space was awash with a video showing the moment Mrs. Abubakar unwittingly asked Nigerians to get their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) come February 2023. The footage not only went viral across social media platforms but has since opened a floodgate of comments from both prominent and ordinary Nigerians.

However, while reacting to the issue during a session of ARISE TV’s “The Breakfast Show’ on Monday, Dr. Abati argued that the statement made by Mrs. Abubakar cannot be described as a gaffe, but rather a slip of the tongue. Going further, the veteran journalist explained that the mix-up in her words may have been a result of the fact that her husband left the PDP for the APC during the run-up to the 2015 presidential election.

“It was a slip of tongue and not necessarily a gaffe. The video that was shown did not indicate that she quickly corrected herself after making the statement. So when people have a slip of tongue and they correct themselves, it will be obvious that it was a slip of tongue and not a deliberate gaffe.

And in any case, you will recall that in 2014, the same presidential candidate of the PDP was a member of the APC. He left the PDP and picked up the membership card for the APC. So, Mrs. Abubakar may have been used to campaigning previously for APC even though the register has now changed. However, in politics, it is better not to attack people’s wives.”