Nigeria's former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has leveled serious accusations against President Bola Tinubu, claiming that he is gradually turning Nigeria into his personal domain. Abubakar, who ran against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election as the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleges that the country's future is being compromised in favor of Tinubu, his family, and close associates.
These allegations were outlined 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 Tinubu's influence over the nation's resources and institutions may become so deeply entrenched that it will be difficult to reverse even after he leaves office.
Abubakar drew comparisons between Tinubu's business practices in Lagos and his actions at the federal level, accusing him of intertwining his private ventures with government operations. He cited companies like Alpha Beta and Primero, which he claims act as Tinubu's proxies in Lagos, controlling key sectors and generating revenue for his family. According to Abubakar, Tinubu is now attempting to replicate this model across the country.
"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 asserted.
Abubakar expressed disappointment that Tinubu's actions have overshadowed his own plans to privatize the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in order 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. Additionally, Abubakar 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.
“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," Abubakar stated.
He went on to condemn the acquisition of NNPC Retail by OVH, calling it a questionable business transaction and an abuse of office. He argued that the deal violated 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 expressed doubts about the impartiality of the probe. He pointed out that Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who heads the National Assembly panel investigating the matter, is a known supporter of Tinubu and has close ties to him, raising concerns about the integrity of the inquiry.
No comments:
Post a Comment