Tag: Atiku Abubakar

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Atiku condemns Tambuwal’s arrest, says EFCC now a political tool

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of weaponising anti-corruption agencies to pressure opposition leaders into defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

In a statement posted on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, Atiku lamented that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been turned into a political tool.

On Monday, the EFCC detentained former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal over alleged financial misconduct, it also invited former Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha over corruption allegations during his brief tenure.

Reacting, Atiku claimed Tambuwal’s detention was solely because he is a member of the coalition seeking to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

He stated, “The only reason the EFCC has detained the former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is because he is a member of the opposition Coalition. It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harrass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition.

“The reality unfolding before us today is that the Tinubu administration, as with other aspects, has objectified the fight against corruption as a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party.

“We are living witnesses to a growing trend where the state and its operators have assumed the roles of a bully by making corruption and the fight against it a political agenda.

“Certainly, that is not the objective for which I worked hard during our administration to create the EFCC.”

Atiku stressed that while fighting corruption needs everyone’s support, using it as a political weapon must be condemned by civil society and Nigeria’s international partners.

The statement read in part, “It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations and, it is as though, as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven.

“That, definitely, is not how to build institutions. That, certainly, is not how to fight the monster of corruption. Indeed, such tendencies provide the stimulant for corruption to thrive

“We have seen how the EFCC has been used to empty opposition state governors into the ruling party, and the tea party is not about to end anytime soon.

“While the genuine fight against corruption is a matter that requires the total support of all Nigerians, the objectification of it as a political agenda should be roundly condemned by all in civil society spaces and friends of Nigeria in the international community.

Atiku vowed that opposition leaders would resist any anti-democratic attempts to force the nation into a one-party dictatorship. (Punch)

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2027: No politician, including Jonathan, can defeat Tinubu —Presidential aide

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has dismissed speculations about former President Goodluck Jonathan posing a threat to Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 general elections.

He also declared that no politician in Nigeria today has the capacity to defeat Tinubu at the polls.

Bwala, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, was asked if there is a need to worry over the recent clamour for Jonathan to run for office in 2027.

He said, “I see that some unscrupulous elements are trying to hoodwink former President Goodluck Jonathan to come into politics so they can destroy his reputation, which, after he left government, he has been building by becoming an international figure globally.

“And why do I say that? The southern Nigeria where President Goodluck Jonathan comes from, has all turned to us. You have seen governors coming.

The presidential aide also questioned the motives of northern political figures urging Jonathan to run, noting that some of these individuals were instrumental in opposing him during his presidency.

“The elements that are going to him in the north, asking him to come to run, were they not the ones that chased him away?
“So what hope does he have that this time around, they are calling him because they mean well for him? Then look at the political class that is coming together to cajole him to come into politics. I know President Goodluck Jonathan is smarter than that.”

Bwala expressed confidence in Tinubu’s victory should Jonathan runs.

“But if President Jonathan decides to run, let me tell you, I have seen the political climate in Nigeria today, and I will speak to facts, not conjecture. There is not a single politician that has the capacity to knock off President Bola Tinubu.”

With the 2027 polls barely two years away, opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, former Senate President, David Mark, among several others, are joining forces to sack the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Calls have also been made for former President Goodluck Jonathan to join the 2027 presidential race, although he has yet to make his position known publicly. (Punch)