Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly rejected what he described as a coordinated campaign of personal attacks from the Presidency, insisting that the administration's refusal to address questions about President Bola Tinubu's public records only strengthens the case for greater transparency. In a statement issued on Wednesday, July 23, 2026, Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, responded to an earlier Presidency release that directly targeted the former Vice President.
Presidency Accused of Choosing Diversion Over Accountability
Shaibu stated that the Presidency had responded to legitimate public inquiries with political mudslinging rather than factual answers. “When governments abandon facts for insults and substitute evidence with abuse, they unwittingly admit that they have run out of convincing answers. Nigerians expected clarification. What they received instead was a barrage of name-calling and political invective,” Atiku said in the statement.
The former Vice President pushed back against the suggestion that raising questions drawn from publicly available records amounted to an attack on Nigeria's sovereignty. “No one has reported Nigeria to anyone. Nigeria is not on trial. The issue concerns questions arising from publicly available records relating to the occupant of the nation's highest office. Those records were not created by the opposition, the ADC, or any political actor.”
Contradiction in Administration's Position
Atiku also challenged what he called a contradiction at the heart of the administration's position, noting that a government actively courting foreign investment, international loans, and global ratings could not reasonably portray scrutiny from abroad as foreign interference. “You cannot celebrate international validation when it is convenient and condemn international scrutiny when it becomes uncomfortable. Accountability is not foreign interference; it is a democratic obligation.”
On the argument that winning an election settles all questions of conduct, Atiku was direct. “Elections confer political authority, but they do not extinguish the public's right to ask questions. A democratic mandate is not a substitute for transparency, nor does it exempt any public official from the obligation to account to the people.”
Specific Question on Drug-Related Forfeiture
He closed the statement by spelling out the specific question he wants answered. “The Nigerian people deserve answers, not insults. They want to know if their President forfeited money to the Government of the United States of America on account of drug related offenses. They deserve transparency, not diversion. Until those questions are addressed with facts, no amount of outrage or personal attacks will silence legitimate public inquiry.”
Atiku urged the Presidency to set aside its combative approach and present the facts directly. “If the government believes that the public record has been misunderstood or misrepresented, the appropriate response is to present the facts. Abuse cannot replace evidence, and propaganda cannot replace truth.”
Atiku Also Slams Tinubu Over 2026 Budget
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Atiku described the 2026 Federal Budget as the most brazen assault on transparency in Nigeria's democratic history. The Service-Wide Vote in the 2026 Appropriation Act ballooned from ₦638 billion to ₦12.8 trillion, a near 1,918% rise in one year. Atiku demanded the National Assembly launch a line-by-line investigation into the allocations and asked who the workers earning ₦2.19 trillion in personnel costs are.
