2027: Atiku Unfit to Handle Nigeria’s Treasury, Says APC

The All Progressives Congress(APC) has questioned former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s suitability for the presidency, citing controversies surrounding his years in public office.

The party also warned Nigerians against entrusting the national treasury to Atiku ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, made the position known in a statement issued on Thursday. He linked the party’s concerns to several financial controversies involving the former vice-president.

Morka cited the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, Siemens bribery scandal, William Jefferson case and a 2010 United States Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions.

He argued that the issues should form part of the public assessment of Atiku as he seeks another presidential term.

“From the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Siemens bribery scandal to the William Jefferson case, the PTDF funds controversy, and the US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions, Atiku’s name is engraved ingloriously on files and dossiers of onshore and offshore financial scandals,” Morka stated.

The APC spokesman said the controversies appeared in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations and legislative reports. However, Atiku has rejected corruption allegations against him.

The Mambilla controversy formed a major part of the party’s latest argument. Morka referred to a recent International Chamber of Commerce(ICC) arbitration involving the long-running dispute over the power project.

The tribunal examined a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s wife at the time.

The payment passed through an offshore company. It occurred around the period when Sunrise Power pursued the Mambilla project contract.

Reports on the tribunal proceedings said the payment raised concerns about its purpose. However, the arbitration tribunal did not find that Atiku personally received a bribe or used his office to secure the contract.

Atiku’s spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, has also rejected attempts to present the arbitration as a corruption conviction against the former vice-president. He challenged critics to identify where the tribunal indicted Atiku for receiving the money or abusing his office.

The APC further revived the Siemens bribery controversy. Morka alleged that funds linked to the scandal passed through an account associated with Douglas.

US authorities investigated Siemens over a global bribery scheme. The company later agreed to pay about $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over anti-bribery violations.

Morka also referred to the case involving former United States Congressman William Jefferson. Jefferson was convicted in the US over corruption-related offences and later sentenced to prison.

The APC said US court records linked Jefferson to a proposed business arrangement involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television. The party also cited a $100,000 payment that featured in the investigation.

Another issue raised by Morka was the 2010 report of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The report examined more than $40 million transferred into the United States through offshore companies and accounts associated with Douglas and her family.

Beyond the corruption controversies, the APC challenged Atiku’s position on petrol subsidy. The party accused him of reversing his earlier position on subsidy removal.

Atiku has maintained that he would restore petrol subsidy if elected in 2027. He has argued that the policy could provide relief to Nigerians facing economic hardship.

Morka, however, described the proposal as a threat to the government’s economic reforms. He argued that restoring subsidy could place pressure on public finances.

The APC spokesman also invoked former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent comments about Atiku. Obasanjo reportedly described his decision to choose Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest mistake of his presidency.

“The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him,” Obasanjo was quoted as saying.

Morka presented the former president’s remarks as further evidence of concerns about Atiku’s record in public office.

The APC ultimately described Atiku as “an accidental Vice President” and declared him “categorically unfit” to serve as president.