Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has levelled serious allegations against President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of gradually transforming Nigeria into his personal fiefdom.
Abubakar, who contested against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, claims that the future of Nigerians has been effectively mortgaged to Tinubu, his family, and close associates.
The allegations were made in a statement released on Wednesday, August 21, by Abubakar’s media adviser, Paul Ibe. The statement, titled “Nigeria is rapidly transforming into a government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu,” warns that even after Tinubu’s eventual departure from office, it would be difficult to undo the ‘’entrenchment of his influence over the nation’s resources and institutions.”
Abubakar drew parallels between Tinubu’s handling of business interests in Lagos and his actions at the federal level. He accused Tinubu of integrating his business ventures with government entities, citing the example of how companies like Alpha Beta and Primero allegedly act as proxies for Tinubu in Lagos, managing key sectors and generating revenue for his family. According to Abubakar, Tinubu is replicating this model 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 expressed disappointment that Tinubu’s actions have overshadowed his own plans to privatize the NNPC to increase transparency. He also questioned the retention of Mele Kyari as the NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD) despite what he described as Kyari’s incompetence, and criticized the appointment of Pius Akinyelure, Tinubu’s former boss at Mobil, as NNPC Chairman while Tinubu himself assumed 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 further condemned the NNPC Retail’s acquisition by OVH, calling it an illogical business transaction and an abuse of office. He argued that the transaction was not in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which mandates the conversion of the NNPC into a public liability company.
While acknowledging that the NNPC and its leadership are currently under investigation by the legislature, Abubakar cast doubt on the integrity of the probe. He claimed that the head of the National Assembly panel investigating the matter, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, is a known supporter of Tinubu and has close ties to him, raising concerns about the ‘’impartiality of the inquiry.”
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