Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Bola Tinubu administration to investigate and prosecute him if it has evidence linking him to the alleged $16bn spent on the country’s power sector under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
Atiku, in a statement on Wednesday, issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu,
accused the President Bola Tinubu-led government of recycling old allegations to divert attention from questions over the use of revenues saved from petrol subsidy removal.
He said the resurfacing of allegations surrounding power-sector projects, privatisation and public assets was an attempt to shift public attention from the economic hardship confronting Nigerians.
The Olusegun Obasanjo administration had been alleged to have expended about $16 billion on the power sector, an issue that later became the subject of a House of Representatives probe after his exit from office in 2007.
In 2008, the Umaru Yar’Adua administration raised questions about expenditure on the power sector, with the allegation initially reported at about $11bn, before the figure became commonly cited as $16bn.
In his defence, Obasanjo cited an EFCC investigation and a presidential review process, arguing that these had undermined the allegation that $16bn had simply been squandered.
A report claimed only about $3.7bn of the $10bn budgeted amount had actually been disbursed, with the balance retained in an account at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Atiku challenged the Tinubu government to account for the resources it had gained since the removal of petrol subsidy, asking, “Where is the people’s money?”
He said the allegations against him had been repeatedly raised over the years without resulting in any prosecution, despite successive governments having access to the investigative machinery of the state.
“The National Assembly investigated the power projects. I was never invited to answer any allegation of wrongdoing.
“Yes, I chaired the National Council on Privatisation as Vice President. But on the power project, I disagreed with its concept and did not preside over its implementation. The responsible minister did. The same applies to the Aluminium Smelter matter.
“I have repeatedly asked to be investigated. I left office in 2007 and have spent much of the period since then opposing governments in power. If there is evidence that I stole public money, why has no government produced it before a court?
“It is still not too late. Investigate me. Invite me. Produce the evidence. Prosecute me if you have a case. But propaganda cannot substitute for evidence,” the statement read in part.
He claimed that the controversy over the power projects was being revived because his demand for greater transparency over the proceeds of subsidy removal had become politically uncomfortable for the administration.
“They removed subsidy from the poor and promised that the sacrifice would free resources for development. Nigerians accepted extraordinary pain on that promise.“Today, petrol is more expensive, transportation is more expensive, food is more expensive, and the purchasing power of the Nigerian worker has been devastated,” he added.
He further questioned the government’s fiscal priorities, alleging that while ordinary Nigerians were being asked to endure the consequences of subsidy removal, powerful economic interests continued to benefit from fiscal incentives, waivers and concessions.
“Meanwhile, government revenues have increased, while fiscal incentives, waivers, tax credits and concessions continue to be available to powerful economic interests. So, our question remains brutally simple: where is the people’s money?”
Atiku argued that the government could not justify removing a major form of relief from Nigerians because the resulting savings would be redirected to development while simultaneously describing economic interventions targeted at powerful interests as incentives.
“You cannot take relief away from the poor, celebrate the resulting revenue and then tell the same impoverished citizens that government intervention on their behalf is economically irresponsible while interventions benefiting powerful interests are called incentives. That hypocrisy is precisely what we are challenging,” he stressed.
“The people who removed subsidy from the poor cannot frighten us into silence by resurrecting allegations that governments with all the investigative machinery of the Nigerian state have had nearly two decades to establish,” he said.
“If you have evidence against Atiku, bring it. If you have a case, prosecute it. But if you have neither, stop manufacturing distractions and answer Nigerians. You removed the subsidy. You collected the savings. Where is the money?”, the statement reads.
(Ripples)
