Atiku fires back at Shettima over Kano School of Hygiene mockery

• Phrank Shaibu, spokesman of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, responded to Vice President Kashim Shettima's remarks at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja
• Shettima mocked Atiku Abubakar's attendance at the Kano School of Hygiene while addressing the summit, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition camp
• Shaibu turned the attack around, citing unresolved questions about President Tinubu's own academic records and a 1993 Chicago forfeiture

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues

FCT, Abuja - The campaign council of Atiku Abubakar's presidential bid has hit back at Vice President Kashim Shettima after he mocked Atiku's educational background at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on October 26, 2026.

Legit.ng reports that Shettima took aim at former Vice-President Atiku during a high-profile APC event at the Presidential Villa.

Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication for the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, accused Shettima of choosing ridicule over answers at a time when millions of Nigerians are struggling to afford food, transport and cooking fuel.

"The shame belongs to Shettima, who stood before a nation weighed down by hunger and chose to laugh at honest education," Shaibu wrote.

Shaibu made this known in a statement issued and made available to Legit.ng on Monday, October 26, 2026.

Shettima's mockery draws fire

Shettima had used the summit platform to deride Atiku for attending the Kano School of Hygiene, a remark the ADC council said insulted not just Atiku but every Nigerian who has worked their way up through affordable education.

Shaibu argued that completing secondary school, pursuing further training and rising through hard work is a path shared by millions of Nigerian families, not a source of shame.

He also pointed the finger back at President Bola Tinubu's own educational record, noting that a Chicago State University document lists Tinubu as having graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970, four years before the school was established in 1974.

"Shettima should explain how a man graduates from a school before it exists," Shaibu said.

The statement also raised the name discrepancy on the NYSC certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC, which bears the name "Tinubu Bola Adekunle" rather than his widely known name, noting that Atiku has challenged the matter in court.

Poverty the real issue, camp says

The ADC council accused Shettima of avoiding the cost of living crisis altogether. The statement cited World Bank estimates that nearly seven in ten Nigerians will live below its lower middle income poverty line in 2026, with 35 million people facing acute food insecurity.

"Poverty is not a future threat to these families. It is the life they are struggling through today," Shaibu said.

The statement also referenced Atiku's proposal for a targeted, capped and independently audited fuel subsidy tied to petrol refined in Nigeria, and challenged Shettima to counter the plan with figures rather than insults.

Shaibu closed by warning that Nigerians would answer Shettima's mockery at the ballot box, with a reference to January 16, 2027, the date he described as an opportunity for voters to correct what he called "an error the Nigerian electorate made in 2023."

Atiku slams Tinubu for blaming opposition for hunger

Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that Atiku fired back at President Tinubu after the president accused the opposition of stoking hunger in Nigeria.

The former vice president raised pointed questions about the naira's collapse, NNPC spending and a $12.4bn gap in Nigeria's external accounts.

Atiku's statement, issued through his ADC campaign team, frames the 2027 election as a direct referendum on Tinubu's economic record.

Source: Legit.ng