A pro-Tinubu advocacy group, the Tinubu Stakeholders Forum (TSF), has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to account for his own time in government before branding current officeholders as “thieves.”
The group’s response comes after Atiku, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), accused the ruling administration of stealing the election and the economy.
In a statement signed by the Chairman, Ahmad Sajoh, and Secretary, Danjuma Sada, TSF argued that Atiku’s own unexplained wealth and business history, including unpaid debts and loans, undercut his standing to criticize others on economic matters.
The group said accountability should apply to every contender in the 2027 race, not just the current administration.
It pointed specifically to the privatisation program overseen by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), which Atiku chaired as vice-president, and raised questions about how public enterprises were valued and whether Nigerians received fair value from those sales.
TSF also referenced testimony from former Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) head Nasir El-Rufai, who told a 2011 Senate committee that both Atiku and then-President Olusegun Obasanjo had at times tried to steer the disposal of government assets toward associates.
The group stressed this allegation was never judicially proven but remains part of the public record and deserves a response.
Beyond the privatisation issue, TSF pointed to unresolved questions surrounding the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) from the Obasanjo years.
The group argued that the 2027 election should be fought on records and policy proposals rather than mutual accusations and challenged Atiku to lay out specific alternatives on foreign exchange reform, fuel subsidies, taxation, and other economic issues if he believes the current government has mismanaged the economy.
“Let the Tinubu administration defend its record. Let Atiku defend his record,” the group said, adding that Nigerians “deserve the facts” to make their own judgment ahead of the election.
