‘Your lies are collapsing’ – Atiku fires back at Obasanjo

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of allegedly sustaining a campaign of “lies, political manipulation and orchestrated deceit” against him for more than 20 years.

Atiku made the allegation on Sunday through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, while reacting to a recent claim by Obasanjo that the former vice president had mobilised the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, to remove him from office during their time in government between 1999 and 2007.

According to Atiku, Obasanjo’s latest allegation is part of a long-running effort to portray him negatively, adding that the former president’s claims are now collapsing “like a pack of cards.”

The former vice president maintained that the allegation was untrue and accused Obasanjo of using political manipulation to attack his reputation.

The development adds to the long-standing political differences between the two former leaders, who served together as president and vice president from 1999 to 2007.

Obasanjo reportedly made the allegation on July 23, reviving one of the long-running political controversies surrounding his relationship with Atiku.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Ibe said it had become a pattern for Obasanjo to revive allegations of betrayal and corruption against Atiku whenever an election cycle approaches.

“This time, he chose to make a man who passed away nearly three years ago the subject of his baseless allegation,” Ibe said.

He added that Na’Abba, who died in 2023, could no longer respond to the allegation, describing the claim as malicious.

Ibe, however, cited former member of the House of Representatives, Abubakar Bwari, who served as Chief Whip during the 1999-2007 sessions, as contradicting Obasanjo’s account.

According to Bwari, Na’Abba never sought Obasanjo’s removal, adding, however, that Atiku instead acted as an emissary to lawmakers on behalf of the former president.

The Atiku camp also challenged another narrative surrounding the relationship between Obasanjo and Atiku during the build-up to the 2003 presidential election.

Ibe cited a video in which former Abia State governor and then Peoples Democratic Party governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, said it was Atiku who knelt before PDP governors to seek their support for Obasanjo’s re-election.

“Atiku knelt down; we were like 17 governors. He knelt down for us and said that he does not want to be disloyal to Obasanjo. That four years is like four days,” Kalu was quoted as saying.

According to Ibe, Kalu’s account contradicted claims allegedly promoted by Obasanjo’s camp that the former president had been forced to kneel before Atiku to secure the latter’s support for a second term.

Ibe further quoted Kalu as saying that PDP governors had been making arrangements that could have resulted in Atiku emerging as president but that Atiku declined to betray Obasanjo, who had previously entrusted him with the position of vice president.

“Atiku was almost a President. We had gotten everyone to postpone the (PDP) convention and had gotten what we needed to move forward, but he (Atiku) said this man (Obasanjo) trusted him, and allowed him to work with him. That he cannot betray Obasanjo,” Kalu said, according to the statement.

The statement also revisited one of the most contentious episodes in the political relationship between Obasanjo and Atiku: the investigation into the Petroleum Technology Development Fund shortly before the 2007 presidential election.

Obasanjo had asked the Senate to investigate alleged financial impropriety involving the PTDF.

Atiku denied wrongdoing and presented himself for investigation, arguing that the funds in question remained in fixed deposit accounts.

Atiku also maintained at the time that the allegations were politically motivated and linked to his opposition to Obasanjo’s controversial bid for a third term in office.

Ibe relied on accounts contained in the autobiography of the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, titled Awujale, to further challenge the narrative surrounding the PTDF controversy.

According to Ibe, Oba Adetona’s account detailed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s treatment of Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga, during the period.

The statement quoted Oba Adetona as writing that EFCC officials went to Adenuga’s Lagos residence on July 9, 2006, broke through the gate and kept him under arrest before he was subsequently released after questioning.

“The EFCC purportedly were on the trail of some money belonging to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, but there was really more beneath the veneer,” Oba Adetona wrote, according to the statement.

Ibe alleged that the investigation was part of an effort to connect Adenuga to Atiku over claims concerning PTDF funds.

He further rejected the allegation that Adenuga used money from the PTDF to pay for Globacom’s operating licence, saying the businessman obtained financing from BNP Paribas Bank for the transaction.

The statement also drew attention to Oba Adetona’s account of his dealings with Adenuga after the businessman’s detention and subsequent departure from Nigeria.

According to the late monarch’s account, Obasanjo later met Adenuga at a social event and subsequently invited him to Ota, where he allegedly requested the Globacom chairman’s assistance with the construction of an administrative block at Bells University, founded by Obasanjo.

“Mike agreed, and Cachez Turnkey Projects Ltd handled the project for him,” the statement quoted Oba Adetona as writing.

Ibe said Adenuga later left Nigeria amid what he described as continued harassment by the EFCC but returned after Obasanjo left office.

He further cited Oba Adetona’s account that the construction project at Bells University slowed during Adenuga’s absence and that the university subsequently sought a meeting with the businessman over the continuation of the project.

The Atiku camp said the account raised questions about the relationship between the former president’s public treatment of Adenuga and his alleged private dealings with the businessman.

The latest exchange is part of a long-running political dispute between Obasanjo and Atiku, whose relationship deteriorated significantly during their second term in office.

The two men had been political allies before the 1999 presidential election, when Obasanjo emerged as the PDP presidential candidate and selected Atiku as his running mate.

Their administration won re-election in 2003, but disagreements subsequently emerged over political succession, alleged corruption and Obasanjo’s controversial third-term bid.

Atiku left the PDP and contested the 2007 presidential election on the Action Congress after his relationship with Obasanjo broke down.

The former vice president has remained a major figure in Nigeria’s opposition politics and is currently the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 election.

Against that background, Ibe said Obasanjo’s latest allegation should be viewed within the context of a political relationship that has remained deeply contested for more than 20 years.

He accused the former president of repeatedly attempting to damage Atiku’s reputation and said the latest claims would not withstand scrutiny.

Obasanjo has yet to publicly respond to the latest allegations contained in Atiku’s statement.

When contacted for reaction, the Special Assistant to former President on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, said “No comment.”

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