Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president of Nigeria, has made grave accusations against President Bola Tinubu, saying that he has been steadily turning Nigeria into his own personal property.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Abubakar asserts that Tinubu, his family, and close allies have almost mortgaged Nigerians’ future. Abubakar ran against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential elections.
The claims were made by Paul Ibe, Abubakar’s media advisor, in a statement that was made public on Wednesday, August 21. The statement, headed “Nigeria is rapidly transforming into a government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu,” cautions that it would be challenging to reverse the “entrenchment of his influence over the nation’s resources and institutions” even after Tinubu eventually leaves office.
Abubakar compared Tinubu’s handling of commercial interests in Lagos to his actions at the federal level. He accused Tinubu of merging his economic endeavours with government agencies, citing Alpha Beta and Primero as examples of companies that reportedly function as Tinubu’s proxies in Lagos, managing vital industries while generating cash for his family. According to Abubakar, Tinubu is implementing this concept at the national level.
“Just as Alpha Beta, Primero, and others act as Tinubu’s proxies in Lagos, managing critical sectors and generating revenue for him and his family, he has begun to replicate this at the federal level,” Abubakar stated.
Abubakar was disappointed that Tinubu’s efforts had obscured his own proposals to privatise the NNPC to promote openness. He also questioned Mele Kyari’s retention as NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD), citing Kyari’s incompetence, and criticised the appointment of Pius Akinyelure, Tinubu’s former boss at Mobil, as NNPC Chairman while Tinubu took on the role of Minister of Petroleum.
He said; “The NNPC did not disclose the purchase price of OVH or the terms of the acquisition. A Freedom of Information request by Premium Times was also rejected by the NNPC, which claimed to be a private company despite still being government-owned. Following this dubious deal, Mele Kyari was controversially retained as NNPC GMD despite his incompetence.
“Tinubu then appointed his former boss at Mobil, turned ally, Pius Akinyelure, as NNPC Chairman, while he took on the role of Minister of Petroleum.”
Abubakar went on to denounce the OVH acquisition of NNPC Retail, calling it an abuse of power and an irrational economic deal. He maintained that the deal did not comply with the Petroleum Industry Act’s (PIA) requirements, which call for the NNPC to be transformed into a public liability business.
Although Abubakar acknowledged that the legislature was now looking into the NNPC and its leadership, he questioned the validity of the investigation. He raised questions about the “impartiality of the inquiry” by claiming that Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the leader of the National Assembly panel looking into the subject, is well-known to be a fan of Tinubu and has close relations to him.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli