The APC has called on Nigerians to reject former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election, accusing him of being linked to several past corruption controversies. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Thursday, the party cited controversies surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power……
The APC has called on Nigerians to reject former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election, accusing him of being linked to several past corruption controversies.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Thursday, the party cited controversies surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, the Siemens bribery scandal, the William Jefferson case, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund and a 2010 US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions.
The APC said the issues were documented in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations and legislative reports, arguing that they raised questions about Atiku’s record in public office.
On the Mambilla project, the party referred to an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration proceeding in Paris concerning a $500,000 payment made in 2003 by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s former wife, through an offshore company.
The party also cited the Siemens bribery case, in which US authorities alleged that Siemens paid bribes to secure contracts in Nigeria during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
According to the APC, approximately $2.8 million allegedly passed through a bank account associated with Douglas, while Siemens later agreed to pay about $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over global bribery violations.
The party further referenced the corruption case involving former US Congressman William Jefferson, claiming that US court records indicated that Jefferson disclosed paying $100,000 to Atiku to influence a proposed business partnership involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television.
Jefferson was subsequently convicted and sentenced to prison.
The APC also referred to a 2010 report by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which it said linked Atiku and Douglas to more than $40 million in suspicious funds transferred into the United States through offshore companies.
The party said Atiku’s position on fuel subsidy removal had also changed since the 2023 election, alleging that his current promise to restore subsidies represented a reversal of his earlier position.
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The APC argued that restoring the subsidy regime would undermine economic reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The party also cited former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent comments about his decision to select Atiku as his running mate in 1999.
Obasanjo was quoted as saying, “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.”
The APC concluded by describing Atiku as “an accidental vice president” and questioning his suitability for the presidency.
