All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Nigerians not to entrust the country’s treasury to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), ahead of the 2027 election.
Gatekeepers News reports that Felix Morka, APC national publicity secretary, made the call in a statement issued on Friday, citing what he described as several controversies involving the former vice-president.
“Ghosts of his sordid past continue, restlessly, to haunt and warn that Atiku must never again be allowed anywhere close to such a commanding position of trust and responsibility as the presidency,” Morka said.
The APC spokesperson also accused Atiku of having a record involving what he described as corruption and cronyism, while referencing controversies surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, Siemens, former US congressman William Jefferson, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund and a 2010 US Senate investigation.
“As a former public official, Atiku’s record is an executive summary of some of Nigeria’s vilest episodes of corruption and cronyism that pulverised our economy and decimated public trust,” Morka said.
He added: “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 and atrocities.”
Morka said the issues cited by the APC had featured in official records, court and tribunal proceedings, government investigations and foreign legislative reports.
On the Mambilla project, he referred to a $500,000 payment made by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s former wife, in January 2003. He said the timing of the payment raised questions because it occurred around the period the Mambilla contract was awarded.
Morka said the transaction was among issues examined by an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal in Paris, France.
The APC spokesperson also cited the Siemens bribery controversy, alleging that about $2.8 million in suspected bribe payments passed through an account linked to Douglas.
He further referenced the William Jefferson case and a 2010 report by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations concerning financial transactions involving Atiku and Douglas.
According to Morka, the various controversies raised questions about whether Atiku should be entrusted with the presidency.
The APC also criticised Atiku’s proposal for a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria, arguing that the policy could undermine the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Atiku has previously rejected corruption allegations against him. His campaign has also challenged the APC to produce any court judgment convicting him of corruption, saying allegations and investigations should not be presented as criminal convictions.
