The All Progressives Congress has lambasted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his claim that N50 million is being paid to members of opposition parties by the ruling party.
The APC position’s condemning Atiku was communicated in a press statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Tuesday.
The party in the statement noted that “Nigeria’s democracy is far stronger than Atiku’s political ambitions.”
It said, “As a veteran politician, one would expect Atiku to understand that while democracy may be about winning election, it is, more importantly, about respecting the will of the electorate and working towards the greater good of all.”
The statement accused Atiku and other opposition party leaders of lacking ability to lead their parties but want to lead Africa’s most populous country.
“As discerning citizens, Nigerians know better than to be distracted by the false alarm and hollow allegations of desperate politicians whose only goal is shore up their political relevance in the build-up to 2027 general elections,” the statement read.
“Atiku should focus on rebuilding his party and offering constructive solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
“The former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, like a badly broken record, has continued to point fingers at the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the festering rot in his party, and the spectacular dysfunction of opposition parties generally.
“At the national conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria held in Abuja on Monday, January 27, 2025, Atiku, warned that the nation’s democracy was somewhat imperiled by judicial involvement in electoral matters.
“Also, without a shred of evidence, Atiku alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was paying certain opposition leaders a whopping 50 Million Naira each to discombobulate opposition parties in the country.”
The party alleged that the Olusegun Obasanjo/Atiku administration conducted the worst election in the country.
He said, “It was in the Atiku era as Vice President, particularly in 2003 and 2007, that the PDP conducted the worst elections in our political history. We cannot possibly forget how Atiku’s PDP heavy-handedly captured most South-West states and vowed to remain in power for 60 years.”
“It was in those same years that Atiku’s former boss and then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, infamously described election as a “do or die affair” in a desperate attempt to annex Lagos.
“If democracy was neither derailed nor endangered in those perilous days, is it now that elections are by far freer, fairer and more credible that Nigeria risks losing democracy?”
The party also slammed a statement credited to Atiku that judicial involvement in Nigeria’s electoral matters is a threat to democracy.
“It is a thing of irony that Atiku, who is Nigeria’s most prolific electoral litigator, would make such a ludicrous claim that judicial involvement in electoral matters is a threat to democracy.
“His criticism of the courts and the electoral process rings hollow given his long history of using the courts to further his political agenda. It’s time for him to take a step back and let the democratic process unfold without his interference.”
“Atiku’s allegation that the APC-led administration was paying out 50 Million Naira to some opposition figures is simply bogus and laughable. Atiku knows that his political desperation is responsible for the PDP’s catastrophic disintegration.
“Peddling rumors and unsubstantiated allegations should be beneath anyone in the standing of an elder statesman, a former Vice President and a serial contestant for the exalted office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The statement also attacked opposition figures like Atiku, Peter Obi, and recently, aggrieved leaders like Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday at a national conference on strengthening democracy, organised by various civic organizations, Atiku warned that the nation’s democracy was at risk of collapse if urgent action wasn’t taken.
“I want to say it here publicly. I met with a political party leadership in the present opposition, and they told me flatly that this government gives them N50 million each,” Atiku revealed.
He questioned the commitment of opposition parties to democracy, saying, “If we are not careful, we are talking to some of you here, but you are recipients of the N50 million from the APC government. Do we really want to fight for democracy?” Atiku noted.
