Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s allegation that he attempted to bribe the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, to facilitate his impeachment.
Responding through his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, on Friday, July 24, Atiku described the allegation as unfair and questioned why Obasanjo waited until Na’Abba’s death before making such claims.
Shaibu said the former president’s decision to implicate someone who could no longer defend himself was both troubling and inconsistent with African values.
“As Africans, we understand the solemn duty of speaking truthfully about the dead. It is therefore deeply troubling that former President Obasanjo has chosen this moment to allege that I gave the late Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba a bribe to impeach him.
“If this allegation were true, why did he never make it while Rt. Hon. Na’Abba was alive? Why wait until the only man who could confirm or refute the claim has departed this world?
“By invoking a deceased man as the principal witness to such a grave allegation, former President Obasanjo has denied Nigerians the opportunity to hear the other side of the story.
“The late Rt. Hon. Ghali Na’Abba cannot now defend his own integrity or respond to the allegation that he accepted a bribe.
“It is unfair to his memory and contrary to our cultural values to conscript the dead into contemporary political battles when they no longer have a voice.”
Atiku also argued that the allegation lacked any legal or official backing, noting that no court or investigative body had ever established that such a bribery incident occurred.
“If there was indeed evidence of any criminal conduct as alleged, Nigerians are entitled to ask why no action was taken at the time by a government that wielded the full powers of the Nigerian state.”
The former vice president suggested that the renewed accusation was politically motivated, especially as preparations for the 2027 general election gather momentum.
“Coming at a time when the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election is taking shape, the obvious objective is to besmirch my person and reputation and confer an undeserved political advantage on the former President’s kinsman.
“Nigerians, however, know better. They are too discerning to be distracted by stale allegations resurrected for political convenience.”
According to Atiku, his strained relationship with Obasanjo dates back to his opposition to the controversial third-term agenda during the former president’s administration.
“My offence was that I stood firmly against the unconstitutional third-term agenda. As a democrat, I chose the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law.
“Rather than surrender democratic principles on the altar of personal ambition, I defended the Constitution and successfully asserted my rights through the courts in a series of landmark legal victories against a sitting President.
“Those battles are now part of Nigeria’s democratic history. It is evident that the bitterness arising from that defining period has not left former President Obasanjo.”
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He maintained that he would not be drawn into prolonged political exchanges over events from more than two decades ago while Nigeria faces pressing national challenges.
“The task before leaders today is not to rewrite history but to rescue the future. Nigerians are more interested in knowing why food prices continue to soar, why public debt continues to rise despite increased revenues, and why scandal after scandal continues to trail the current administration than in revisiting political disagreements from over two decades ago.”
Shaibu further said that if Obasanjo had chosen to support a particular candidate ahead of the 2027 election, he should openly declare his preference instead of reviving allegations that could no longer be independently verified.
“If former President Obasanjo has chosen to take a political position ahead of 2027, he should simply declare it and allow Nigerians to judge it on its merits, rather than attempting to influence public opinion through allegations that can no longer be tested because the principal witness is no longer alive.
“Our focus remains unwavering: offering credible alternatives, defending democracy, demanding accountability, and working with all patriotic Nigerians to restore competent, transparent, and people-centred leadership to our country. Nigerians deserve solutions to today’s problems, not recycled political tales from yesterday.”
Obasanjo recently alleged that Atiku offered the late Ghali Umar Na’Abba a ₦5 million bribe as part of an alleged plot to impeach him while he was president. Atiku has strongly denied the claim, insisting it is baseless and politically motivated.