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Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Atiku Abubakar, has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s allegations that he bribed the late Rt. Dear. Ghali Umar Na’Abba to impeach him because he was politically motivated.
Atiku claims that Obasanjo has continually antagonized him over his (Atiku) opposition to the former President’s third term agenda, and how he “defended the Constitution and successfully asserted my rights through the courts in a series of landmark legal victories against the sitting President”.
In a statement delivered by Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, on Friday, Atiku said, “It is evident that the bitterness arising from that fateful period has not left former President Obasanjo.”
He continued, “This comes at a time when the political situation leading up to the 2027 general elections is taking shape, the clear aim of which is to tarnish my person and reputation and give undeserved political advantages to the relatives of the former President. However, the Nigerian people know better. They are too intelligent to be bothered by trite accusations raised for the sake of political convenience.”
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The ADC leader urged Obasanjo to state his political preferences openly rather than relying on unverifiable allegations, saying, “If former President Obasanjo has chosen to take a political position ahead of 2027, he should state it and let Nigerians judge it on its merits, rather than trying to sway public opinion through accusations that can no longer be tested because the main witness is no longer alive.”
The former vice president questioned why Obasanjo chose to make these allegations only after Na’Abba’s death, arguing that this deprived Nigerians of the opportunity to hear the other side of the story.
He insisted that the allegations had no legal or official backing, adding, “If there is any evidence of criminal acts as alleged, Nigerians have the right to ask why no action was taken at that time by the government which holds full power in the Nigerian state.”
He said he would not get involved in historic political disputes when his country faces economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment and hunger.
“Our focus remains steadfast: offering credible alternatives, defending democracy, demanding accountability, and working with all patriotic Nigerians to restore competent, transparent, and people-centered leadership to our country. Nigerians deserve solutions to today’s problems, not recycling yesterday’s political stories,” Atiku said.
Atiku responded to his former boss’s accusations that Atiku sponsored an impeachment plot against him during his first term and secretly worked with several political actors to stop his re-election in 2003.
