… Questions motives behind ex-SGF’s allegations
By Eshioromeh Sebastian
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has labelled former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, a “political mercenary.”
Atiku also raised serious questions about the motives behind Lawal’s unsubstantiated allegations against him, following the former SGF’s television interview on Monday night.
The statement, issued on Tuesday by Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, came in response to Babachir Lawal’s appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme.
During the interview, Lawal made sweeping accusations regarding the conduct of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary, which produced Atiku as the party’s candidate.
However, Atiku’s camp swiftly dismissed the entire allegations as a script driven by bitterness and personal disappointment rather than any credible evidence.
According to the statement, Nigerians who watched the interview were confronted with “a curious spectacle: a man armed with outrage but bereft of evidence; rich in allegations but poor in facts.” Atiku noted that Lawal spent nearly an hour making grave accusations but failed to produce a single piece of verifiable documentation. “No document. No petition. No result sheet. No witness statement. No recording. Nothing,” the statement read in part.
The former Vice President’s camp pointed out the glaring contradiction in Lawal’s allegations, noting that the former SGF repeatedly insisted that proof was “everywhere” yet left the studio exactly as he entered, armed with accusations but empty-handed on evidence. “He arrived with accusations. He left with accusations. In between, the evidence never arrived,” the statement added.
Atiku also dismantled what he described as Lawal’s “laughable contradiction” of portraying the former Vice President as simultaneously politically irrelevant and politically omnipotent.
According to the statement, Lawal claimed Atiku was inactive, unpopular, and absent from the field, yet Nigerians were expected to believe that this same dormant politician somehow orchestrated a nationwide conspiracy across 8,809 wards. “Such arguments are not merely implausible; they are insulting to the intelligence of party members,” the statement said.
Most damning, however, was Atiku’s reference to Lawal’s astonishing confession on national television. “If he ever needed money, all he had to do was call President Tinubu and the money would reach him before he got home,” the statement quoted Lawal as saying.
Atiku’s camp seized on this remark, arguing that it laid bare Lawal’s true character. “Increasingly, Mr. Lawal cuts the figure of a political mercenary, eagerly retailing narratives carefully designed to discredit Atiku Abubakar before Christian communities in the Middle Belt and other constituencies where the former Vice President continues to enjoy considerable goodwill,” the statement added.
The Atiku camp further accused Lawal of descending into “reckless personal abuse” after failing to defend his allegations with facts, including the claim that Atiku has “absolutely nothing.” In response, the statement reminded Nigerians of Atiku’s role in liberalising the telecommunications sector, his contributions to economic reforms, private sector development, education, and national growth—achievements that have sustained his political relevance across three decades.
Addressing the recent accusations directly, Atiku’s team insisted that Lawal’s entire narrative collapsed under minimal scrutiny. The former SGF had alleged widespread manipulation of the ADC presidential primary, including claims of unnamed officials, unnamed callers, and unnamed conspirators.
However, no petition was ever filed, no result sheet was ever presented, and no witness came forward. “By his own admission, Mr. Lawal openly aligned himself with another aspirant long before the conclusion of the process.
He campaigned for that candidate, promoted that candidate, and publicly believed that candidate should emerge victorious. Having failed in that objective, he now seeks to dress personal disappointment in the borrowed robes of moral outrage,” the statement read.
Atiku declared that this would be the final response to what he called Lawal’s “increasingly desperate attempts to remain politically relevant through sensationalism and character assassination.” The statement concluded: “The facts remain unchanged. The truth remains intact. And no amount of bitterness can alter either.”
Discussion about this post