The National Leader of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said the controversy involving President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, has further damaged Nigeria’s international image.
Baba-Ahmed, a former presidential aide, made the comment on Thursday in a post on X, arguing that Nigerians should be more concerned about the reputational damage arising from the controversy than the eventual release of the records.
He said Nigeria was already struggling with negative perceptions arising from insecurity, corruption, poverty and crime, among other challenges.
“Shouldn’t we be more concerned over the damage being done to our image as Nigerians by the PBAT/FBI/Atiku saga?
“We are already damaged by seemingly outsourcing our national security, unspeakable levels of corruption, poverty, crimes and collapse of integrity of key institutions,” he wrote.
His comments came amid an ongoing legal battle in the United States concerning records relating to Tinubu.
Tinubu has reportedly filed a legal challenge in a US court seeking to prevent the US Department of Justice, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, from releasing records dating back to the 1990s and connected to allegations that have previously been made against him.
The controversy followed a Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, lawsuit filed by US transparency activist Aaron Greenspan against several US government agencies.
Greenspan is seeking documents relating to investigations involving Tinubu, including the FBI’s file on the Nigerian president and FBI Form 302 interview records covering the period between 1992 and 1993.
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The request also includes records allegedly connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the United States involving approximately $460,000 linked to Tinubu.
The development has become a subject of political debate in Nigeria, particularly among supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and opposition figures, including Atiku, who is a prominent member of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Baba-Ahmed, however, shifted attention from the political arguments surrounding the records to what he described as the broader implications for Nigeria’s reputation.
He expressed concern that continued controversy over the matter could reinforce negative perceptions about the country and its institutions at a time when Nigeria is already facing serious challenges.
The PRP leader therefore urged Nigerians to consider the wider national consequences of the dispute rather than focusing solely on the documents being sought in the United States.