Nigeria, Sept. 16 -- Atiku, in a statement earlier made available to The News Chronicle, likened Nigeria's current situation to the crises that sparked the French Revolution of 1789 and Russia's Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, warning that widespread hunger could fuel a similar uprising.

But the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the comparison as reckless and misleading.

"Talk is cheap. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his handlers are clearly out of touch with the positive developments currently unfolding in our country," Onanuga said.

Citing new data from the National Bureau of Statistics, he pointed to five straight months of declining inflation, a record trade surplus, and a...