Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the Presidency’s latest attack on him, accusing the administration of avoiding accountability by resorting to personal insults instead of addressing questions surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s past.
Atiku said the Presidency’s response to his criticisms failed to provide factual answers on issues that remain in the public domain, insisting that Nigerians deserve transparency rather than political attacks.
Atiku accuses Presidency of avoiding key questions
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that the Presidency devoted its response to attacking his personality instead of explaining matters that continue to attract public interest.
According to him, governments that replace facts with insults only demonstrate that they have exhausted credible explanations.
“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,” the statement read.
Atiku maintained that asking questions based on publicly available records should not be interpreted as an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty.
He said the issues being raised relate to public records concerning the occupant of Nigeria’s highest office and not an attempt to report Nigeria to any foreign authority.
“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,” he stated.
Says elections do not end public scrutiny
The former Vice President also criticised the Presidency for reviving past allegations against him instead of responding directly to the concerns he had raised.
He argued that Nigerians are capable of distinguishing between political attacks and factual explanations.
Atiku further described it as contradictory for the government to seek foreign investment, loans and international endorsements while condemning international scrutiny whenever it becomes uncomfortable.
“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,” he said.
He added that electoral victory does not remove the obligation of public officials to remain accountable to citizens.
“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,” Atiku stated.
Calls for evidence instead of personal attacks
The former Vice President urged the Tinubu administration to abandon what he described as inflammatory rhetoric and instead provide Nigerians with factual responses.
He said if the government believes public records have been misunderstood, it should clarify them with evidence rather than abuse.
“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,” he said.
Atiku concluded that Nigerians deserve answers regarding longstanding questions about President Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case in the United States, insisting that transparency, rather than personal attacks, remains the appropriate response.
Presidency had accused Atiku over US lobbying and corruption allegations
Atiku’s response followed a statement by the Presidency earlier on Thursday, signed by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The Presidency accused the former Vice President of spending $1.2 million on American lobbyists to petition US President Donald Trump and the US State Department over President Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case.
It also alleged that Atiku featured prominently in the William Jefferson bribery scandal, referenced a 2010 US Senate report containing allegations against him, and claimed his presidential ambition was driven by a desire to obtain diplomatic immunity.
The Presidency further defended President Tinubu, arguing that issues surrounding his past had been settled politically during the 2023 presidential election and legally by the Supreme Court, while insisting the administration remained focused on governance and its Renewed Hope Agenda.
Watch the video here…
PRESS STATEMENT
PRESIDENTIAL INSULTS CANNOT REPLACE TRANSPARENCY — ATIKU
Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has described the Presidency’s latest statement attacking his person as further proof…
— phrank Shaibu (@phrankangel) July 23, 2026