Atiku Fires Back at Tinubu, Says: ‘I Laid ABTI Foundation Same Year Your US Forfeiture Case Began’
By OUR REPORTER
“Bola, Nigerians have tested your leadership. The verdict is clear: you are a disaster. In Yoruba culture, I am told, a calabash of pepper represents hostile leadership, while a calabash of honey represents hospitable leadership. Yours is a calabash of pepper,” he said.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has hit back at President Bola Tinubu over his criticism of his investment in education, linking the foundation of his educational institution to the same year a US court ordered the forfeiture of funds in an account associated with the President.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, described Tinubu’s comments as a desperate attempt to divert public attention from the economic hardship and alleged failures of his administration.
In a statement issued on Saturday, November 7, 2026, and signed by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said his investment in education predated his years in public office.
Responding to Tinubu’s question about how he established an educational institution while serving as Vice-President, Atiku said the foundation of ABTI Academy was laid in 1993, before he assumed the office of Vice-President in 1999.
He also drew attention to the controversy surrounding a US court’s 1993 forfeiture order involving funds in an account linked to Tinubu, alleging that the funds were described as proceeds of narcotics trafficking or involved in unlawful financial transactions.
“In 1993, while a U.S. court ordered the forfeiture of funds in an account in your name, describing them as proceeds of narcotics trafficking or funds involved in unlawful financial transactions, I was laying the foundation for ABTI Academy. That Academy has since grown into the American University of Nigeria,” Atiku said.
He argued that the contrast between their respective histories demonstrated the difference in their public records.
“That moment captures the difference between us. My history is traceable. I can show Nigerians how I built my name, achieved success in business and entered public leadership. Your own history remains clumsy and foggy. You cannot erase it by attacking my record in education,” he added.
Atiku also accused Tinubu of presiding over a worsening cost-of-living crisis, arguing that the President had no justification for seeking another mandate without addressing the hardship confronting Nigerians.
“A president who has plunged the country into a crushing cost-of-living crisis has no business asking Nigerians for another mandate. The real conversation about the 2027 election is how to repair the damage your government has done,” he said.
Questioning the direction of the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, Atiku asked whether the promised progress meant deeper poverty, mounting debt, insecurity and unemployment.
He claimed that since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, his administration had become associated with hardship and economic despair, alleging that more than 79 million Nigerians had been pushed into extreme poverty.
The former Vice-President also criticised the APC presidential campaign’s Director-General over comments reportedly suggesting that hungry Nigerians were lazy.
He accused the ruling party of insulting citizens suffering from economic hardship instead of addressing the underlying problems.
“You created poverty, then insult the people suffering from it. You attack my Affordable Life campaign, but the people you are really attacking are the millions of Nigerians desperate for relief from your failed leadership,” Atiku said.
Using a Yoruba cultural expression, the ADC presidential candidate further described Tinubu’s leadership as hostile rather than accommodating.
“Bola, Nigerians have tested your leadership. The verdict is clear: you are a disaster. In Yoruba culture, I am told, a calabash of pepper represents hostile leadership, while a calabash of honey represents hospitable leadership. Yours is a calabash of pepper,” he said.
On the removal of petrol subsidy, Atiku rejected Tinubu’s position that Nigeria would never return to subsidised petrol prices.
He promised that, if elected President, he would introduce what he described as a transparent, production-based subsidy tied to domestic refining, with the aim of reducing the cost of petrol and diesel.
“You say Nigeria will never return to subsidised petrol prices. You are wrong. By the grace of the Almighty and with the mandate of the Nigerian people, I will restore a transparent, production-based subsidy tied to the local refining of fuel. Nigerians will benefit directly through lower energy costs, including the prices of petrol and diesel,” he said.
He also promised that his administration would make deliberate investments in social welfare and end what he described as the opaque system through which the present government manages funds meant for economically vulnerable Nigerians.
Atiku further accused Tinubu of attacking his Affordable Life campaign because of the alternative economic direction it represents, insisting that attempts to undermine his political ambition would not succeed.
“You want me off the ballot at all costs, but the will of the Nigerian people will prevail. I will be on that ballot, and I will beat you decisively,” he declared.
He maintained that the Tinubu administration had little to campaign on after three and a half years in office, promising to lead Nigeria towards prosperity, economic growth and development if elected in 2027.
