Former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make public records concerning allegations against him, adding that Nigerians need equal standards of transparency from political leaders.
Atiku’s viewpoint was in a statement made yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, reacting to what he called the fresh recycling of decades-old claims against him.
The Saturday Independent, however, reported him as accusing the Tinubu administration and its allies of returning to claims dating back to the political tussles of the Olusegun Obasanjo era, because they could not justify the current economic suffering facing Nigerians.
He said the fresh claims were an attempt to divert public attention from rising food costs, falling purchasing power and the rising cost of living.
At some time desperation makes its presence felt. When the defenders of this regime can no longer explain why food, transport, electricity, rent, education, insecurity and healthcare are becoming increasingly out of the grasp of regular families, they go into twenty-year-old files seeking for an escape route’, Atiku added.
He said several agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an administrative panel, the National Assembly and the courts looked into the claims against him during the Obasanjo administration.
“No court has convicted me of the allegations, I urge anyone who has credible evidence against me to present it for proper legal scrutiny,” Atiku stated.
What was discovered in 2026 that Nigeria was not told about twenty years ago? “A petition is not a conviction, an acknowledgement stamp is not an evidence of guilt and repetition cannot magically become a judgement of court,” he stated.
The ex-vice president further likened the claims against him to President Tinubu’s situation in a United States legal matter involving demands for data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Atiku said Tinubu could hardly expect transparency from others while wanting to withhold access to data about himself.
“The contrast with Bola Tinubu is nearly laughable. I’m saying ‘show your evidence,’ and Tinubu actually went to an American court to intervene in a case seeking FBI and DEA information involving him, citing privacy rights in records he believed should not be disclosed,” he said.
He called on political actors to open “every lawful record” and every allegation to the law.
My challenge is simple: open every legitimate record, test every claim. “Let Nigerians see who welcomes scrutiny and who reaches for privacy arguments when the files concern him,” Atiku remarked.
He also urged the EFCC against being used as political tool adding that the anti-graft agency should be autonomous and examine credible claims regardless of the political status of the persons concerned.
“The EFCC is a national institution not of any government, party or candidate. It should pursue true misconduct wherever it finds it, but state institutions must never become into emergency political weapons deployed whenever those in power are losing the battle on governance,” he said.
“The allegations will not solve the economic problems of the Nigerian people, why are Nigerians increasingly unable to afford food, transport, housing, education and healthcare,” Atiku remarked.
“You cannot feed a hungry family with EFCC petition. “You cannot restore purchasing power with recycled allegations, and you cannot make life affordable by shouting Atiku whenever Nigerians ask questions,” he added.
ADC presidential contender stated Nigerians would be judging political leaders on their records, quality of living under their rule and the future they are offering the country on the 2027 general election.
“The old script didn’t stop me then – nor will it stop me now. “Nigerians will judge us by our records, by the lives they are living and the future we offer them in 2027,” Atiku stated.
About the Author
