Paul Ibe, the Special Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has responded to Vice President Kashim Shettima following his comparison of Atiku to Kenyan opposition figure Raila Odinga over his repeated attempts to become Nigeria’s president, Peak Newspaper reports.
Ibe’s reaction was contained in a post shared on his official X handle, where he questioned the intention behind Shettima’s remarks and defended his principal’s constitutional right to continue contesting elections.
According to a report by The Cable, Shettima described Atiku as Odinga because the former vice president has contested presidential elections eight times. The comment reportedly drew attention to Atiku’s repeated efforts to secure Nigeria’s highest political office.
However, Ibe rejected what he considered an attempt to ridicule Atiku through the comparison. He argued that Odinga is a prominent figure in Kenya’s democratic struggles and that associating Atiku with him should not automatically be interpreted as an insult.
Ibe further suggested that Shettima’s remarks could be connected to Atiku’s consistent habit of referring to President Bola Tinubu simply as Bola. He maintained that repeatedly seeking public office should not be treated as a political offence or a reason to mock anyone.
In his post, Ibe questioned whether suffering electoral defeats should prevent a citizen from participating in subsequent elections, stressing that democratic principles protect the right of eligible individuals to seek public office.
