2027: APC attacks Atiku over corruption allegations, urges Nigerians to reject his presidential bid

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has renewed its attacks on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of being linked to a series of corruption controversies and warning Nigerians against entrusting him with the nation’s treasury in the 2027 presidential election.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, made the allegations in a statement issued on Thursday titled, “2027: Why Nigerians must keep Atiku away from the national treasury.”

Mr Morka said the controversies surrounding Atiku’s years in public office, including the latest revelations from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, raised questions about his record in public office.

The APC spokesperson listed the Mambilla project, the Siemens bribery scandal, the corruption case involving former United States Congressman William Jefferson, the controversy over the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and a 2010 US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions involving Atiku and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas.

He said the matters were not merely political allegations, but issues that had featured in official investigations, court proceedings, legislative reports and international financial inquiries.

The party’s reaction comes a day after PREMIUM TIMES published a special report detailing five international corruption cases and suspicious financial transactions involving Atiku and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas.

The report, published on Wednesday, examined the latest findings of an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Tribunal in Paris on the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, alongside the Siemens bribery scandal, the William Jefferson bribery case and a 2010 US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions involving Mr Atiku and Ms Douglas.

However, Atiku has repeatedly rejected allegations of corruption against him.

His spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, recently explained that the ICC arbitration did not indict or convict the former vice president and challenged the APC to identify any portion of the tribunal’s final award in which he was found to have received a bribe or abused his office.

Mambilla payment

The APC’s latest attack comes shortly after the publication of details from the ICC tribunal’s final award in the long-running dispute between Nigeria and Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited over the Mambilla project.

The tribunal examined a $500,000 payment made on 30 January 2003 by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, from the Swiss account of his offshore company, China Castle Investments Limited, to a US bank account belonging to Ms Douglas, who was then Atiku’s wife.

Atiku subsequently rejected the attempt to portray the tribunal’s findings as a corruption verdict against him.

Through Mr Shaibu, he argued that a commercial arbitration could not be converted into a criminal conviction and challenged the APC to produce evidence that he received the $500,000 as a bribe or used his office to influence the Mambilla contract.

The federal government subsequently said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had begun examining the issues arising from the tribunal’s findings.

Siemens controversy

Mr Morka also referred to the Siemens bribery scandal, which involved allegations that the German engineering company paid bribes to secure contracts in Nigeria during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

US authorities investigated Siemens over a global bribery scheme, and the company ultimately agreed to pay about $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over violations of anti-bribery laws.

The APC statement linked the wider Siemens controversy to Ms Douglas, alleging that about $2.8 million passed through an account associated with her.

“There was the Siemens bribery scandal in which US authorities alleged that Siemens paid at least $4.5 million in bribes to secure Nigerian telecommunications contracts during the Obasanjo administration, with approximately $2.8 million reportedly passing through a bank account owned by Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s ex-wife,” Mr Morka said.

The party reinforced its argument that Atiku’s record should be considered before he is entrusted with the presidency.

“Again, Atiku’s Vice Presidential soiled fingerprints are in focus.”

William Jefferson case

The APC also revisited the case of William Jefferson, a former US Congressman who was convicted in the United States over corruption-related offences.

US court records showed that Jefferson was involved in efforts to promote telecommunications business interests in Nigeria involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television.

According to court records, Mr Jefferson discussed a $100,000 payment intended for Atiku in connection with the proposed business arrangement. The US investigation eventually resulted in Jefferson’s conviction, and he was sentenced to prison in 2009.

The controversy also triggered investigations in Nigeria during Atiku’s tenure as vice president. The EFCC examined allegations connected with the proposed iGate-NDTV venture and related financial transactions.

“Again, Atiku’s dark web of corrupt influence peddling and abuse of office on display,” Mr Morka said.

US Senate investigation

Mr Morka further cited a 2010 investigation by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into suspicious financial transactions involving Atiku, Ms Douglas and companies associated with them.

According to the Senate investigation, more than $40 million was transferred to the United States through offshore companies between 2000 and 2008.

The investigation examined about $25 million transferred into more than 30 US bank accounts associated with Ms Douglas, the Jennifer Douglas Abubakar Family Trust, the Gede Foundation and the American University of Nigeria.

The transactions occurred largely during the period when Mr Atiku was vice president and therefore a politically exposed person.

The Senate inquiry raised questions about the sources and movement of the funds, although the existence of a suspicious transaction investigation is not, by itself, equivalent to a criminal conviction of Mr Atiku.

“The 2010 report of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that linked Atiku and his ex-wife, Jennifer Douglas, to more than $40 million in suspicious funds transferred into the United States through offshore companies and lodged in over 30 shadowy bank accounts associated with ex-wife, Jennifer Douglas and her family, again tells a sordid tale of a man that cannot be trusted with the nation’s treasury,” Mr Morka said.

PTDF controversy

The APC also revived the controversy over the management of Petroleum Technology Development Fund funds during Atiku’s time as vice president.

A government investigation into the PTDF controversy examined the placement of funds in commercial banks, including Equatorial Trust Bank and Trans International Bank.

A report attributed to the investigative panel alleged that funds approved for PTDF projects were deposited in banks rather than used immediately for the projects for which they had been appropriated.

The panel also questioned Atiku’s approval of a $20 million disbursement without the president’s and the Federal Executive Council’s approval, describing the action as contrary to the procedures that governed the earlier $125 million approval.

The former vice president rejected the allegations at the time, arguing that the investigations were politically motivated and that the evidence did not support conclusions against him.

Fuel subsidy policy

Beyond the corruption allegations, the APC statement attacked Atiku over his current stance on the petrol subsidy.

The ADC presidential candidate had recently pledged to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.

He said in August that he would reinstate the subsidy, arguing that Nigeria had sufficient resources to protect its citizens from hardship. He also questioned what had happened to the savings from the removal of the subsidy under President Bola Tinubu.

His spokesperson, Paul Ibe, had earlier explained that the proposed intervention would be temporary and eventually phased out as the economy recovered.

Atiku himself later clarified that Mr Ibe was not speaking on his behalf and insisted that he would restore the subsidy.

The APC described the policy as a reversal of Atiku’s position before the 2023 election, when he supported the removal of fuel subsidy.

The party argued that restoring the subsidy would place pressure on public finances and accused the former vice president of seeking access to the nation’s resources through what it described as an unrealistic policy.

Obasanjo’s criticism

The APC also relied on a recent public criticism of Atiku by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom he (Atiku) served as vice-president between 1999 and 2007.

Speaking at an event in Lagos in August, Mr Obasanjo described his decision to choose Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest mistake he made while in office.

“The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him,” Mr Obasanjo said.

The two men have had a long-running political and personal dispute dating back to their years in office, making Mr Obasanjo’s assessment part of a broader history of disagreement between the former president and his former deputy.

APC’s 2027 argument

Mr Morka said the various controversies surrounding Atiku should inform voters’ assessment of his 2027 presidential ambition.

He argued that the presidential election would give Nigerians the opportunity to decide whether the former VP should return to the highest office in the country.

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The APC spokesperson said the party’s concern was particularly significant given the size of the resources controlled by the federal government and the powers vested in the presidency.

“From the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Siemens bribery scandal to the William Jefferson case, the PTDF funds controversy, and the US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions, Atiku’s name is engraved ingloriously on files and dossiers of onshore and offshore financial scandals,” Mr Morka said.

He accused the ADC flagbearer of having a record that, in the party’s view, raised questions about accountability and the management of public resources.

The statement concluded with a direct attack on the former vice president, describing him as “categorically unfit” for the presidency.