Former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has said that Nigerians want to know whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had, in the past, forfeited drug-related money to the United States government.
Recall that the Presidency had alleged that Atiku spent $1.2 million on a US lobbyist over his legal standing in America.
Reacting, Atiku described the Presidency’s latest statement attacking his person as further proof that the Tinubu administration has chosen diversion over disclosure and insults over accountability.
Atiku said it was telling that the Presidency devoted several paragraphs to personal attacks without addressing the fundamental issues that continue to generate legitimate public interest.
“When governments abandon facts for insults and substitute evidence with abuse, they unwittingly admit that they have run out of convincing answers. Nigerians expected clarification. What they received instead was a barrage of name-calling and political invective.”
Atiku noted that raising questions about matters contained in public records should never be misconstrued as an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“No one has reported Nigeria to anyone. Nigeria is not on trial. The issue concerns questions arising from publicly available records relating to the occupant of the nation’s highest office. Those records were not created by the opposition, the ADC, or any political actor. Attempting to silence legitimate public inquiry by wrapping oneself in the national flag does not answer the questions before the country.”
The former Vice President said it was particularly unfortunate that the Presidency chose to revive old political allegations against him instead of responding directly to the issues with which it was confronted.
“Nigerians can distinguish between political mudslinging and factual responses. Personal attacks do not erase public records, nor do they substitute for transparency. The Presidency should resist the temptation to personalise issues that require clear and factual explanations,” he stated.
The former Vice President maintained that history has consistently shown that confident governments respond to scrutiny with openness rather than hostility.
“The Nigerian people deserve answers, not insults. They want to know if their President forfeited money to the Government of the United States of America on account of drug-related offences. They deserve transparency, not diversion. Until those questions are addressed with facts, no amount of outrage or personal attacks will silence legitimate public inquiry,” he stated.
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