By Eshioromeh Sebastian
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu to apply the rule of law fairly in three high-profile detention cases, demanding that the grievances surrounding Nnamdi Kanu’s conviction be addressed and that questions over the continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai be answered.
Atiku, who made the demand in Abuja on Thursday in his Independence Day address, said no case should be left to fester under questionable due process.
“The continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai raises questions about due process that the authorities must answer,” he said.
On the convicted secessionist leader, he said Kanu’s right to a lawful appeal must be respected, adding that “the grievances and divisions surrounding his case must be addressed seriously.”
The former vice president also renewed his call for the release of five young Nigerians arrested in Borno for wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts, warning that “a political slogan on a shirt must never become a reason to imprison a Nigerian.”
‘We Are Skipping Meals’
Atiku used the occasion of Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary to deliver a sweeping verdict on the Tinubu administration, saying the country has drifted from its founders’ vision and that the last three years have produced the worst cost-of-living crisis in its history.
“Families are not merely tightening their belts. They are skipping meals, delaying treatment and borrowing to survive until payday,” he said.
He dismissed Tinubu’s declaration that “emergency treatment is over” and that an “age of prosperity” has begun, saying a president can announce a new chapter in a speech but cannot put food on a family’s table.
Budget, Cash Transfers and the Coastal Highway
The ADC presidential candidate took aim at the extension of the 2025 budget to the end of 2026, asking how many budgets can run at once before Nigerians are told what was funded, completed or left unpaid.
He also demanded a full account of the ₦750 billion in cash transfers claimed by APC Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, who said over 10 million Nigerians received ₦75,000 each.
“If you could find ten million people to pay, you can account for the payments,” Atiku said, asking how beneficiaries without phones were identified and paid, particularly in insecure parts of Yobe and Borno.
On the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, he alleged that Hitech, a Chagoury Group company, received the contract without an open public tender, and demanded the publication of the invitations, bids, evaluations and every variation.
Fuel, Fares and the Price of Bread
Atiku contrasted the buying power of the minimum wage, saying ₦30,000 bought about 118 litres of petrol in April 2023, while today’s ₦70,000 buys just 50 litres. He said an egg rose from about ₦88 to ₦261, and a loaf of bread from about ₦500 to about ₦2,000.
“If 2023 was the illness, why does your ‘cure’ buy less fuel, fewer eggs and a smaller loaf of bread?” he asked.
He promised a capped, budgeted production subsidy tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, excluding imported petrol, if elected.
He also taunted the President over his October 1 transport fare promise: “Did your promise miss the bus?”
‘Tinubu Must Go’
On security, Atiku said a government that cannot make life affordable and cannot protect life has failed the two tests that matter most, and demanded a full account of the Niger State stampede that killed three people.
He pledged to respect INEC’s independence and ensure votes count in 2027.
“Your vote must count as you cast it. You should not need powerful friends to make it count,” he said. “The message is clear: Tinubu must go.”
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