•Says, ‘opposing your 3rd term bid my only offence
•It’s unfair to say I bribed Na’Abba who’s not alive to defend himself
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), for the2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has said that the latest allegations against him by President Olusegun Obasanjo are attempts to confer advantage on his preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 polls.
Atiku, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the former president’s allegation that the former vice president bribed former Speaker, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, to impeach him was unfair “to a man who is no longer alive to defend his name.”
Atiku said it is difficult to ignore the political timing of what he described as “the recycled allegations,” against him.
He maintained that the roots of Obasanjo’s hostility towards him are well known. He noted that his only offence was opposing the alleged third term agenda.
According to him: “Coming at a time when the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election is taking shape, the obvious objective is to besmirch my person and reputation and confer an undeserved political advantage on the former president’s kinsman. Nigerians, however, know better. They are too discerning to be distracted by stale allegations resurrected for political convenience.
“My offence was that I stood firmly against the unconstitutional third-term agenda. As a democrat, I chose the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law. Rather than surrender democratic principles on the altar of personal ambition, I defended the constitution and successfully asserted my rights through the courts in a series of landmark legal victories against a sitting President.
“Those battles are now part of Nigeria’s democratic history. It is evident that the bitterness arising from that defining period has failed to leave former President Obasanjo.”
The ADC candidate stated that while President Obasanjo is entitled to support any candidate of his choice, he should do so openly, noting that he would not be distracted into exchanging words over historical political disputes while Nigeria grapples with “unprecedented” multidimensional crisis.
(The Sun)
