The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN) has slammed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Keyamo said: “Your Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, this is hypocrisy at its peak! Let me just talk only about the sector that I head, Aviation.”

“In September, 2004, when you were Vice-President, your Government woke up one morning and liquidated Nigeria Airways, throwing thousands of Nigerian out of jobs and into sorrow and pain. To add salt into their wounds, you refused to pay them their pensions and gratuities, running into billions of Naira.

“Twenty-two years later, after many of them have died out of frustration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now clearing the mess you left behind. Over a month ago, Mr. President approved and released the total sum N36 billion to bring succour to these families.”

“They have started receiving alerts and praying for Mr. President. In fact, the President was given an Award for this by the workers’ union a few weeks ago.”

“Yet you seat down there and pontificate? It’s only the younger ones who don’t know your history you can attempt to hoodwink, but we will expose you to them. You cannot disguise your inordinate ambition in a cloud of rhetorical gibberish.”

“When it is convenient for you, you claim some credit of the Obasanjo-Atiku government and when not convenient, you say Obasanjo was in charge and not you as Vice-President. The proper posturing of a con artist.”

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), had criticised President Bola Tinubu over the rising cost of living and worsening insecurity, noting that many Nigerian families were struggling to afford basic necessities while citizens continued to live in fear of kidnappings and attacks.