Friday, August 23, 2024-Nigeria's former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has levelled serious allegations against President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of gradually transforming Nigeria into his personal fiefdom.
Abubakar, who contested against Tinubu
in the 2023 presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
platform, claims that the future of Nigerians has been effectively mortgaged to
Tinubu, his family, and close associates.
The allegations were made in a
statement released on Wednesday, August 21, by Abubakar's media adviser, Paul
Ibe. The statement, titled "Nigeria is rapidly transforming into a
government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu," warns that even after
Tinubu's eventual departure from office, it would be difficult to undo the
‘’entrenchment of his influence over the nation's resources and institutions.''
Abubakar drew parallels between
Tinubu’s handling of business interests in Lagos and his actions at the federal
level. He accused Tinubu of integrating his business ventures with government
entities, citing the example of how companies like Alpha Beta and Primero
allegedly act as proxies for Tinubu in Lagos, managing key sectors and
generating revenue for his family. According to Abubakar, Tinubu is replicating
this model at the national level.
“Just as Alpha Beta, Primero, and
others act as Tinubu’s proxies in Lagos, managing critical sectors and
generating revenue for him and his family, he has begun to replicate this at
the federal level,” Abubakar stated.
Abubakar expressed disappointment
that Tinubu's actions have overshadowed his own plans to privatize the NNPC to
increase transparency. He also questioned the retention of Mele Kyari as the
NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD) despite what he described as Kyari's
incompetence, and criticized the appointment of Pius Akinyelure, Tinubu’s
former boss at Mobil, as NNPC Chairman while Tinubu himself assumed the role of
Minister of Petroleum.
He said;
“The NNPC did not disclose the
purchase price of OVH or the terms of the acquisition. A Freedom of Information
request by Premium Times was also rejected by the NNPC, which claimed to be a
private company despite still being government-owned. Following this dubious
deal, Mele Kyari was controversially retained as NNPC GMD despite his
incompetence.
“Tinubu then appointed his former boss at
Mobil, turned ally, Pius Akinyelure, as NNPC Chairman, while he took on the
role of Minister of Petroleum.”
Abubakar further condemned the NNPC Retail’s acquisition by OVH, calling
it an illogical business transaction and an abuse of office. He argued that the
transaction was not in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act
(PIA), which mandates the conversion of the NNPC into a public liability
company.
While acknowledging that the NNPC and
its leadership are currently under investigation by the legislature, Abubakar
cast doubt on the integrity of the probe. He claimed that the head of the
National Assembly panel investigating the matter, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, is
a known supporter of Tinubu and has close ties to him, raising concerns about
the ‘’impartiality of the inquiry.''
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