By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed the resurgence of decades-old allegations against him as a desperate distraction tactic, challenging President Bola Tinubu to subject his own records to the same level of public scrutiny.
In a statement issued Friday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president argued that the renewed circulation of allegations rooted in his political battles with the Obasanjo administration is a sign of panic from a government overwhelmed by its failures.
Atiku maintained that the accusations had already been thoroughly tested through Nigeria’s judicial and administrative systems.
“Let us not rewrite history. The Obasanjo administration did not protect me. At the height of our political disagreement, these matters travelled through the EFCC, an administrative panel, the National Assembly and the courts. The machinery of the state was fully deployed, and the political hostility was public. Yet no court convicted me on these allegations. That is the record,” he stated.
The ADC candidate questioned the timing of the allegations, asking what new evidence could possibly justify reviving issues from nearly two decades ago.
“A petition is not a conviction, an acknowledgement stamp is not evidence of guilt, and repetition cannot magically become a judgment of court. Anyone with credible evidence against me should bring it out and test it before the law. I have issued that challenge before, and I repeat it today without hesitation,” Atiku declared.
Drawing a sharp contrast with the President, Atiku pointed to Tinubu’s intervention in an American court case seeking the release of FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) records concerning him.
“While I am saying, ‘bring out your evidence,’ Tinubu actually went to an American court to intervene in a case seeking FBI and DEA records concerning him, citing privacy interests in records he argued should not be disclosed. It is like a man ordering his neighbour to empty his pockets while keeping his own firmly zipped,” he said.
The former vice president accused the government of rummaging through old files instead of addressing the everyday struggles of Nigerians.
“At some point, desperation announces itself. When those defending this government can no longer explain why food, transportation, electricity, rent, education, insecurity and healthcare are increasingly beyond the reach of ordinary families, they rummage through twenty-year-old files looking for an escape route. This is panic dressed up as accountability,” the statement read.
Atiku cautioned against the weaponisation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for political battles, stressing that the agency belongs to the country and not to any individual or party.
He maintained that no amount of recycled allegations could substitute for governance that improves the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“My challenge is simple: let every lawful record be opened and every allegation tested. Let Nigerians see who welcomes scrutiny and who reaches for privacy arguments when the files concern him,” Atiku said.
The former vice president argued that the 2027 elections would ultimately be decided on record and performance, not on old political battles.
“The old script did not stop me then, and it will not stop me now. In 2027, Nigerians will judge us by our records, the lives they are living and the future we offer them. Those afraid of that judgment may continue rummaging through the archives. We are facing the Nigerian people,” he concluded.
Discussion about this post