The All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised fresh allegations over the past financial and business dealings of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, urging Nigerians to scrutinise his record ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the APC cited controversies surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, the Siemens bribery case, the William Jefferson investigation and a 2010 US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions involving Atiku and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas.
The party alleged that the controversies raised questions about Atiku’s record on accountability and public trust.
“The media and public discourse have been awash with damning reports of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s alleged dealings in local and international bribery and corruption schemes,” the APC said.
It added that Atiku’s past controversies “continue, restlessly, to haunt and warn that Atiku must never again be allowed anywhere close to such a commanding position of trust and responsibility as the presidency.”
The APC said the 2027 election would provide Nigerians with an opportunity to assess Atiku’s record and political positions.
“Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election presents the electorate the opportunity to deal a final blow to Atiku’s desperate quest for presidential power, and save the country from his ravenous plunder,” the party said.
The APC specifically highlighted the controversy surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, who was then Atiku’s wife.
An International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal in Paris examined the transaction in its proceedings concerning the Mambilla project.
The APC said the payment occurred around the period when the Mambilla contract was awarded while Atiku was Vice President.
“The latest controversy surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project is particularly troubling,” the party said.
It alleged that Atiku “declined an opportunity to explain and justify what clearly was an illegal bribe payment to his wife.”
However, the tribunal’s examination of the payment should be distinguished from a finding that Atiku personally received a bribe.
The APC also referred to the Siemens bribery case, in which US authorities investigated alleged payments made to secure Nigerian telecommunications contracts during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
“There was the Siemens bribery scandal in which US authorities alleged that Siemens paid at least $4.5 million in bribes to secure Nigerian telecommunications contracts during the Obasanjo administration,” the party said.
It further alleged that approximately $2.8 million passed through a bank account associated with Jennifer Douglas.
Siemens subsequently agreed to pay about $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over global bribery violations.
The APC also cited the corruption case involving former US Congressman William Jefferson.
“And there was the William Jefferson bribery case with Atiku and his close associates falling under the scrutiny of American investigators,” the party said.
It claimed that US court records indicated that Jefferson disclosed paying $100,000 to influence a proposed business partnership involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television.
Jefferson was later convicted on corruption-related charges and sentenced to prison.
The party further referenced a 2010 report by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations concerning financial transfers involving Atiku and his former wife.
“The 2010 report of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that linked Atiku and his ex-wife, Jennifer Douglas, to more than $40 million in suspicious funds transferred into the United States through offshore companies… again tells a sordid tale of a man that cannot be trusted with the nation’s treasury,” the APC said.
The Senate investigation examined transactions involving offshore companies and accounts associated with Douglas and her family, but the report itself did not establish that all the funds were proceeds of corruption.
The APC also criticised what it described as Atiku’s change in position on fuel subsidy policy.
“Atiku’s sudden U-turn from his 2023 policy position in favour of fuel subsidy removal to his new promise to restore the fuel subsidy regime, if elected, must be understood as his latest device to lay his hands on, and squander, the country’s 18-year foreign reserve high of over $54 billion,” the party alleged.
The party attributed the current foreign reserves position to the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and argued that the 2027 election would offer voters an opportunity to assess competing economic policy proposals.
The APC’s statement comes as political parties and prospective presidential contenders intensify preparations and public campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections.