Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of sustaining a more than two-decade campaign of “lies, political manipulation and orchestrated deceit” against him, saying the former president’s latest allegations are collapsing “like a pack of cards.”
Mr Atiku made the accusation on Sunday through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, in reaction to a recent claim by Mr Obasanjo that the former vice president mobilised the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, to remove him from office during their administration between 1999 and 2007.
Mr Obasanjo reportedly made the allegation on 23 July, reviving one of the long-running controversies surrounding his political relationship with Atiku.
Atiku camp challenges Obasanjo’s allegation
In a statement issued in Abuja, Mr Ibe said Mr Obasanjo had developed a pattern of reviving allegations of betrayal and corruption against Atiku whenever an election cycle approaches.
“This time, he chose to make a man who passed away nearly three years ago the subject of his baseless allegation,” Mr Ibe said.
He noted that Na’Abba, who died in 2023, could no longer respond to the allegation and described the claim as malicious.
The Atiku camp, however, cited Mr Abubakar Bwari, a former member of the House of Representatives who served as Chief Whip during the 1999–2007 sessions, as contradicting Obasanjo’s account.
According to Bwari, Na’Abba never sought Obasanjo’s removal. He reportedly said Atiku instead acted as an emissary to lawmakers on behalf of the former president.
Kalu’s account of 2003 election
Mr Ibe also challenged another narrative surrounding the relationship between Obasanjo and Atiku during the build-up to the 2003 presidential election.
He cited a video in which former Abia State governor and former Peoples Democratic Party governor, Orji Uzor Kalu said Mr Atiku knelt before PDP governors to seek their support for Obasanjo’s re-election.
“Atiku knelt down; we were like 17 governors. He knelt down for us and said that he does not want to be disloyal to Obasanjo. That four years is like four days,” Mr Kalu was quoted as saying.
According to Mr Ibe, the account contradicted claims allegedly promoted by Obasanjo’s camp that the former president had been forced to kneel before Atiku to secure his support for a second term.
Mr Ibe further quoted Kalu as saying PDP governors had been making arrangements that could have resulted in Atiku emerging as president, but that Atiku declined to betray Obasanjo.
“Atiku was almost a President. We had gotten everyone to postpone the (PDP) convention and had gotten what we needed to move forward, but he (Atiku) said this man (Obasanjo) trusted him, and allowed him to work with him. That he cannot betray Obasanjo,” Mr Kalu said, according to the statement.
PTDF controversy revisited
The statement also revisited one of the most contentious episodes in the political relationship between the two former leaders: the investigation into the Petroleum Technology Development Fund shortly before the 2007 presidential election.
Mr Obasanjo had asked the Senate to investigate alleged financial impropriety involving the PTDF.
Mr Atiku denied wrongdoing and presented himself for investigation, arguing that the funds in question remained in fixed deposit accounts.
He also maintained that the allegations were politically motivated and linked to his opposition to Obasanjo’s controversial attempt to secure a third term in office.
Mr Ibe relied on accounts contained in the autobiography of the late Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, titled Awujale, to challenge aspects of the narrative surrounding the PTDF controversy.
According to Mr Ibe, Adetona’s account detailed the treatment of Mr Mike Adenuga, Chairman of Globacom, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission during the period.
The statement quoted Adetona as writing that EFCC officials went to Adenuga’s Lagos residence on July 9, 2006, broke through the gate and detained him before he was subsequently released after questioning.
“The EFCC purportedly were on the trail of some money belonging to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, but there was really more beneath the veneer,” Adetona wrote, according to the statement.
Ibe alleged that the investigation was part of an effort to connect Adenuga to Atiku over claims concerning PTDF funds.
He also rejected the allegation that Adenuga used money from the PTDF to pay for Globacom’s operating licence, saying the businessman obtained financing from BNP Paribas Bank for the transaction.
Bells University project
The statement further drew attention to Adetona’s account of his dealings with Adenuga following the businessman’s detention and subsequent departure from Nigeria.
According to the late monarch’s account, Obasanjo later met Adenuga at a social event and subsequently invited him to Ota, where he allegedly requested the Globacom chairman’s assistance with the construction of an administrative block at Bells University, founded by Obasanjo.
“Mike agreed, and Cachez Turnkey Projects Ltd handled the project for him,” the statement quoted Adetona as writing.
Ibe said Adenuga later left Nigeria amid what he described as continued harassment by the EFCC but returned after Obasanjo left office.
He further cited Adetona’s account that construction at Bells University slowed during Adenuga’s absence and that the university subsequently sought a meeting with the businessman over the continuation of the project.
The Atiku camp argued that the account raised questions about the relationship between Obasanjo’s public treatment of Adenuga and his alleged private dealings with the businessman.
Two-decade political rivalry
The latest exchange is part of a long-running political dispute between Obasanjo and Atiku, whose relationship deteriorated significantly during their second term in office.
The two men were political allies before the 1999 presidential election, when Obasanjo emerged as the PDP presidential candidate and selected Atiku as his running mate.
Their administration won re-election in 2003, but disagreements later emerged over political succession, alleged corruption and Obasanjo’s controversial third-term bid.
Atiku subsequently left the PDP and contested the 2007 presidential election on the platform of the Action Congress after his relationship with Obasanjo broke down.
The former vice president has remained a major figure in Nigeria’s opposition politics and is currently the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 election.
Against this background, Ibe said Obasanjo’s latest allegation should be viewed within the context of a political relationship that has remained deeply contested for more than 20 years.
He accused the former president of repeatedly attempting to damage Atiku’s reputation and maintained that the latest claims would not withstand scrutiny.
Obasanjo has yet to publicly respond to the latest allegations contained in Atiku’s statement.
When contacted for reaction, the Special Assistant to the former President on Media, Mr Kehinde Akinyemi, said, “No comment.”
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