POLITICAL POLITICS

APC Urges Nigerians to Reject Atiku in 2027 Polls

by admin on | 2026-09-25 14:06:05

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By Muhammad Bala Imam

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on Nigerians to reject former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election, citing what it described as his alleged links to past corruption and financial scandals.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling party argued that Atiku should not be entrusted with control of the nation's treasury, citing controversies involving the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, the Siemens bribery investigation, the William Jefferson case and a 2010 US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions.

The APC said the controversies were documented in official records, court proceedings, government investigations and legislative reports in Nigeria and abroad. It maintained that the issues raise questions about Atiku's record in public office.

On the Mambilla project, the party referred to proceedings before an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal in Paris concerning a $500,000 payment allegedly made in January 2003 by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku's then-wife, through an offshore company.

The APC said the payment occurred around the period the Mambilla contract was awarded while Atiku was vice president. It alleged that Atiku did not adequately explain the transaction.

The party also cited the Siemens bribery investigation, in which US authorities alleged that Siemens paid millions of dollars in bribes to obtain Nigerian telecommunications contracts during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The APC said about $2.8 million allegedly passed through an account linked to Douglas.

Siemens later agreed to pay about $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over global bribery violations, the statement said.

The APC further referenced the US bribery case involving former Congressman William Jefferson, saying court records showed that Jefferson disclosed a $100,000 payment to Atiku in connection with a proposed business arrangement involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television. Jefferson was subsequently convicted and imprisoned.

The party also cited a 2010 report by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which examined more than $40 million in suspicious funds transferred into the United States through offshore companies and accounts associated with Douglas and her family.

The APC linked the controversies to its argument that Atiku should not be entrusted with the presidency or control of public finances.

The party also criticised Atiku's reported shift on fuel subsidy policy, contrasting his position during the 2023 election cycle with his more recent pledge to restore subsidies if elected president.

According to the APC, the proposed restoration of fuel subsidies could undermine the government's economic reforms and foreign-exchange reserves. The party credited President Bola Tinubu's administration with increasing Nigeria's foreign reserves to more than $54 billion, which it described as an 18-year high.

The statement also invoked former President Olusegun Obasanjo's criticism of Atiku. It cited comments Obasanjo made in August 2026, when he reportedly described choosing Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest mistake of his presidency.

The APC described Atiku as unsuitable for the presidency and urged voters to prevent him from returning to national executive power in 2027.