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Nigeria’s former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s latest allegations against him, describing them as a desperate attempt to rewrite history and give a political advantage to his preferred candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the former President’s decision to accuse him of bribing the late Rt Hon Ghali Umar Na’Abba to impeach him was not only ill-advised but fundamentally unfair to a man who is no longer alive to defend his name.
“As Africans, we understand the solemn duty to speak truthfully about the dead. It is therefore deeply worrying that former President Obasanjo has chosen this moment to accuse the late Hon Ghali Umar Na’Abba of giving a bribe to impeach him.
“If this allegation were true, why did he never make it while Honorable Na’Abba was alive? Why wait until the only man who could confirm or refute the allegation has left this world? By invoking a deceased man as the main witness to such a serious allegation, former President Obasanjo denied Nigerians the opportunity to hear the other side of the story.
“The late Hon. Ghali Na’Abba cannot now defend his integrity or respond to the accusation of accepting a bribe. It is unfair to his memory and contrary to our cultural values to enlist the dead in contemporary political battles when they no longer have a voice.”
Atiku noted that the allegations themselves are not supported by any judicial finding or official determination.
“If there was indeed evidence of any criminal conduct as alleged, Nigerians have a right to ask why no action was taken at the time by a government exercising all the powers of the Nigerian state.”
The former vice president said it was difficult to ignore the political momentum of the recycled allegations.
“Coming at a time when the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections is taking shape, the obvious objective is to tarnish my person and reputation and confer undeserved political advantage on the former president’s kinsman. Nigerians, however, know better. They are too discerning to be distracted by stale allegations resurrected for political expediency.”
Atiku says the roots of the former president’s hostility towards him are well known.
“My fault was that I staunchly opposed the unconstitutional agenda of the third term. As a democrat, I chose the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law. Rather than abandon democratic principles on the altar of personal ambition, I defended the Constitution and successfully asserted my rights through the courts in a series of historic legal victories against a sitting president. Those battles are now part of Nigeria’s democratic history. It is evident that the bitterness resulting from that decisive period has failed to recede former President Obasanjo.”
He said he would not be distracted from exchanging words on historic political disputes as Nigeria grapples with unprecedented economic hardship, growing insecurity, mass unemployment, hunger and troubling issues surrounding the management of public resources.
“The task of today’s leaders is not to rewrite history but to save the future. Nigerians are more interested in knowing why food prices continue to rise, why government debt continues to rise despite rising revenues, and why scandal after scandal continues to drag down the current administration than in revisiting political disagreements from more than two decades ago.”
Atiku added that although former President Obasanjo has the right to support any candidate of his choice, he should do so openly.
“If former President Obasanjo chose to take a political stand ahead of 2027, he should simply declare it and allow Nigerians to judge it on its merits, rather than attempting to sway public opinion through allegations that can no longer be verified because the star witness is no longer alive.
“Our purpose remains steadfast: to offer credible alternatives, defend democracy, demand accountability and work with all patriotic Nigerians to restore competent, transparent and people-centered leadership to our country. Nigerians deserve solutions to today’s problems, not recycled political stories from yesterday.”
