Atiku: Presidency’s Insults Cannot Replace Transparency, Accountability

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Presidency's latest response to his recent comments, accusing President Bola Tinubu's administration of resorting to personal attacks instead of addressing issues he says are of legitimate public concern.

Atiku, who is the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, said the Presidency's statement focused on attacking his character while failing to provide substantive responses to questions he had raised about government actions.

The former vice president's position was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

The exchange follows recent criticisms by Atiku over alleged questionable allocations in the 2026 Appropriation Act and his calls for President Tinubu to apologise and resign over the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The Presidency, through Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had earlier accused Atiku of engaging in media theatrics and lobbying activities in Washington instead of presenting alternative policy proposals.

Responding, Atiku said the government's decision to resort to personal attacks reflected an unwillingness to engage with the substantive issues raised.

"When governments abandon facts for insults and substitute evidence with abuse, they unwittingly admit that they have run out of convincing answers. Nigerians expected clarification. What they received instead was a barrage of name-calling and political invective," the statement said.

The former vice president argued that raising questions based on publicly available records should not be interpreted as an attack on Nigeria or its sovereignty.

"No one has reported Nigeria to anyone. Nigeria is not on trial. The issue concerns questions arising from publicly available records relating to the occupant of the nation's highest office. Those records were not created by the opposition, the ADC, or any political actor. Attempting to silence legitimate public inquiry by wrapping oneself in the national flag does not answer the questions before the country," he stated.

According to Atiku, Nigerians are capable of distinguishing between political rhetoric and factual explanations.

"Nigerians can distinguish between political mudslinging and factual responses. Personal attacks do not erase public records, nor do they substitute for transparency. The Presidency should resist the temptation to personalise issues that require clear and factual explanations," he said.

He also argued that governments should embrace public scrutiny rather than dismiss it as foreign interference.

"You cannot celebrate international validation when it is convenient and condemn international scrutiny when it becomes uncomfortable. Accountability is not foreign interference; it is a democratic obligation," Atiku said.

The former vice president maintained that electoral victory does not exempt public office holders from public accountability.

"Elections confer political authority, but they do not extinguish the public's right to ask questions. A democratic mandate is not a substitute for transparency, nor does it exempt any public official from the obligation to account to the people," he added.

Atiku urged the Presidency to respond to issues raised with verifiable facts rather than inflammatory rhetoric.

"If the government believes that the public record has been misunderstood or misrepresented, the appropriate response is to present the facts. Abuse cannot replace evidence, and propaganda cannot replace truth," he said.

He further argued that Nigerians deserve clear explanations on matters that have generated public debate, adding that transparency remains essential to democratic governance.

The Presidency has consistently defended the Tinubu administration's record and has previously dismissed the opposition's allegations as politically motivated.