The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday renewed its attacks on former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alleging that his past involvement in several corruption controversies makes him unfit to occupy the office of President.9

In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling party urged Nigerians not to entrust Atiku with the nation’s highest office, citing what it described as a long history of alleged involvement in local and international bribery and corruption scandals.

The APC said reports and investigations over the years had continued to raise questions about Atiku’s record in public office, alleging that his name had featured in controversies surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, the Siemens bribery scandal, the William Jefferson case, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) dispute, and investigations by United States authorities into suspicious financial transactions.

According to the party, the allegations against the former vice president were documented in various official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations, legislative reports and international financial inquiries.

The APC specifically referenced reports from an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris concerning a $500,000 payment allegedly made in 2003 by Sunrise Power promoter, Leno Adesanya, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s former wife, through an offshore company during the period the Mambilla power contract was awarded.

The party also cited the Siemens bribery case, alleging that funds linked to the company’s efforts to secure telecommunications contracts in Nigeria passed through accounts associated with Atiku’s former wife.

It further referred to the William Jefferson bribery investigation in the United States, claiming that court records indicated that the former US congressman disclosed making payments intended to influence a proposed business partnership involving Nigerian interests.

The ruling party equally pointed to a 2010 report by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations which examined suspicious financial transactions involving Atiku’s former wife and associated entities.

Beyond the corruption allegations, the APC accused Atiku of inconsistency on economic policy, particularly over fuel subsidy. The party claimed that Atiku’s recent promise to restore fuel subsidy represented a departure from his position during the 2023 presidential election campaign when he supported subsidy removal.

According to the APC, the policy reversal was aimed at gaining political advantage despite what it described as the progress made by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in strengthening the country’s finances.

The party also cited remarks attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his memoir, My Watch, and more recent comments credited to him regarding his decision to choose Atiku as running mate in 1999.

Morka said the comments reflected concerns about Atiku’s suitability for the nation’s highest office.

“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,” the APC spokesman stated.

Atiku has consistently denied allegations of corruption and has in the past maintained that no court of competent jurisdiction has convicted him of any corruption-related offence.