The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned Nigerians against electing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as president in 2027, saying he must never be allowed close to the country's treasury again. National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka issued the warning in a statement on Thursday, September 24, 2026, pointing to what he described as a trail of well-documented bribery and corruption controversies that followed Atiku across his years in public life.
The ruling party called Atiku "an accidental Vice President, and categorically unfit for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria." The statement, as reported by Vanguard, listed several cases the APC said were backed by official records, tribunal proceedings, and foreign legislative reports.
APC's Corruption Allegations Against Atiku
The APC cited the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, saying an International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Tribunal in Paris examined a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 by Sunrise Power promoter Leno Adesanya to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku's then wife, through an offshore company. The payment reportedly coincided with the period the Mambilla contract was awarded while Atiku served as Vice President. According to the APC, "Atiku declined an opportunity to explain and justify what clearly was an illegal bribe payment to his wife."
The party also referenced the Siemens bribery scandal, in which US authorities alleged that Siemens paid at least $4.5 million in bribes to win Nigerian telecommunications contracts during the Obasanjo administration, with about $2.8 million reportedly passing through a bank account held by Douglas. Siemens later agreed to pay roughly $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over global bribery violations.
In the William Jefferson bribery case, the APC said US court records showed that the former congressman disclosed paying Atiku $100,000 to influence a business deal involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television. Jefferson was later convicted and sent to prison.
The party further referenced 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 and held across more than 30 bank accounts associated with Douglas and her family.
APC on Subsidy Promise, Obasanjo's Criticism
Beyond the corruption allegations, the APC aimed at Atiku's recent pledge to restore the fuel subsidy regime, calling it a reversal of his own 2023 position in favour of subsidy removal. The party described the promise as "his latest device to lay his hands on, and squander, the country's 18-year foreign reserve high of over $54 billion."
The statement also drew on former President Olusegun Obasanjo's published criticism of his former deputy. Morka quoted Obasanjo's book, My Watch, in which the former president described Atiku as possessing "a propensity for corruption, a tendency toward disloyalty, poor judgment, and a readiness to sacrifice the national interest for selfish gains." The APC also recalled that in August 2026, Obasanjo said picking Atiku as his running mate in 1999 was the biggest mistake of his presidency.
Atiku Names El-Rufai, Others in 2027 Campaign Council
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that Atiku approved a lean National Campaign Council and Presidential Campaign Management Committee ahead of the 2027 general elections. Kashim Ibrahim-Imam will chair the Council, with former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai serving as Deputy Chairman. The campaign structure includes six operational directorates and 30 directors, with veteran journalist Dele Momodu heading Media and Communications.
The APC's warning comes as Atiku continues to build his campaign machinery for the 2027 election, with the party's allegations and the former vice president's campaign preparations setting the stage for a contentious political contest.
