President Bola Tinubu's former spokesman in the South East, Denge. Dr Josef Onoh has taken a swipe at the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for alleged comments aimed at the President.
Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election had said that President Tinubu has effectively mortgaged Nigeria's future to himself, his family and associates to the extent that even after President Tinubu leaves office, it would be nearly impossible for the nation to break free from his shackles.
Atiku said: "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."
But Onoh in a swift reaction described Atiku as a salesman who presided over Nigeria's Privatisation programme and made millions of Nigerians jobless.
Onoh said that Atiku's comments was misleading and aimed at generating resentment for the president and members of his family, adding that Atiku is the forerunner of the current hardship and poverty in Nigeria when he mortgaged Nigeria's future to companies of his cronies and associates that robbed the country of her assets.
"Let me take His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the world back in time and history of the atrocities of Atiku and how he crippled a nation that President Tinubu with no single fault of his inherited a nation sitting on dynamite. Let's not forget Atiku was in charge of the economy and former President Obasanjo gave him free hand until the Galaxy Backbone scandal happened.
FEDERAL SECRETARIAT IKOYI
"In 2006, the Federal Secretariat Ikoyi, was acquired by Babalakin's Resort Ltd. A 15 storey prime asset overgrown with weeds from Atiku and OBJ through a Development Lease Agreement (DLA) for N7.2 Billion. A Court asked Buhari to pay N54 Billion to Babalakin for that blunder.
"The DLA, dated October 10, 2006, granted Babalakin Resort Ltd a 99-years lease to redevelop the Federal Secretariat complex, which OBJ & Atiku had abandoned for 7 years into 480 luxury apartments. This was on the eve of their departure from government. The transaction was one for the road.
"The DLA hit the rocks when the Lagos State government in the interest of the public indicated willingness in acquiring the Federal Secretariat complex. LASG insisted it should be accorded the right of first refusal since LASG is the issuing Authority of the C of O, coupled with other reasons.
"In 2002, the first three years of the Obasanjo/Atiku, manufacturing accounted for 6% of GDP. Nigeria's GDP fell by half for the first time in 20 years. This was the year all textile factories in Nigeria closed down and unemployment was 28% within the formal sector alone!!
"In 2002, the United Nations estimated that 70% of Nigerians live below the poverty line compared to 48.5% in 1998 under military rule. Life expectancy fell from 54yrs to 51yrs. Two-fifth of every child below age 5 were malnourished and only 50% of the 128Million Nigerians have access to clean water.
"NigerDock is the largest ship fabrication yard in the West Africa sub region. When it was sold, its Ex-MD Engr. Nkpubre Okon, openly stated how 'Mr. Job Creator' ignored the Transport Ministry then to open a bid for NigerDock.
"Atiku's preferred bidder, 'Global Energy' that agreed to increase NigerDock's workforce from 4,800 to 6,000 as part of privatization agreement dismissed 2,200 immediately it took ownership. Jagal Group that took over after Global Energy lost out on power play also sacked 1,400.
"Nigeria Port Authority reform was purely contrived to grab landed properties. 10,000 workers were sacked and 133 bids opened for Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) properties consisting of 68 properties in Apapa, 28 houses in Ikoyi. The highest reserved bid was for a property in Ikoyi fixed then at N390.4 Million.
NIGERIA RAILWAY
"How can His Excellency Atiku Abubakar forget how 7000 railway workers were sacked in 2005 without compensation to reduce its workforce to 6,300? Another 1,260 were fired in 2006. When ATIKU and their administration were leaving in 2007, they left N5 Billion in unpaid Railway pension arrears.
"Nigeria Airways and their houses in GRA Ikeja, what happened to them? Then owned by the Nigeria Airways and all now sold to whom? Nigeria RE. The biggest reinsurance company in Africa who bought it? NICON Insurance who bought it? NITEL was sold for peanuts and killed by them so that their investment in AIRTEL, MTN, GLO, etc will yield dividends. NITEL House, one of the tallest in Marina was sold cheap to a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
"What is the Status of National Stadium Surulere? Millions of Naira was budgeted for refurbishment by the sports ministry, yet there is nothing to show. Compare that stadium to Lagos State owned Teslim Balogun stadium and the difference is clear.
"Nigerian National Shipping line; where are the ships? They disappeared between 1999-2015 maybe that's what encouraged Nigeria Air to disappear in the immediate past administration that President Tinubu is currently battling to ensure it appears. NEPA after Obasanjo spent $16 billion, they broke down NEPA to several units and sold it to themselves and NEPA is still not efficient while Atiku's Mikano Generators are powering Nigeria & her businesses!
Atiku sold Port Harcourt Refinery to their cronies in 2007 and President Yar'Adua reversed it because it wasn't in the interest of the nation.
"The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON, the company that was set up to help the rich buy their debts, once alleged that 350 Nigerians (out of 200 million citizens) are responsible for 80% of AMCON's N5.4 trillion debt portfolio. The corporation also pointed out that, out of the millions of BVN numbers with the banks, only 100 BVNs collect 60% of bank lending. And this has left the banks with 13,000 bad loans worth 5.6 trillion borrowed by "big men" who are now fighting to remove this administration so that they won't ever pay their debts!
"As Head of National Council on Privatization (NCP), from 1999, Atiku dug Nigeria's economic grave for today's extreme poverty and unemployment. There were over 600 federal assets when Atiku's NCP started selling. Atiku should tell Nigerians who bought what and what was left for the country when he left power in 2007.
"To whom did Atiku sell the following companies:
NAFCON
Eleme Petrochemical
Daily Times
Ughelli Power
Egbin Power
NICON Insurance
ALSCON
Transcorp Hilton Hotel
NICON Luxury Hotel
Sunti Sugar Ltd
NetCom House
Bacita Sugar Ltd
MM2
"In 2007, Onigbolo Cement operating at 500,000 tons per annum was sold to Dangote at N1.7Bn. May I remind H.E ATIKU ABUBAKAR of Senate public hearing of August, 2011 which succinctly captures how Atiku through retinue of cohorts, fronts, shell companies, ring fenced over 70% of FG's assets through a brazen daylight robbery privatization that he supervised. What I stated isn't sensational. Its real life facts and all the Senators are alive today.
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"The 2011 privatization Senate committee was made up of Senator Ahmed Lawan - Chairman, Senators Babafemi Ojudu, Philip Aduda, Mohammed Ndume, Ifeanyi Okowa, (I'm surprised he accepted to be his running mate in 2023), Hope Uzodinma and Mohammadu Magoro.
"Let's look at Aluminum Smelting Company, ALSCON, which Atiku privatized. ALSCON, which Nigeria built with $3.2 billion, was sold to a Russian firm, Russal, for $130million. As of the time of sale, ALSCON had received $120million for the dredging of Imo River, but it was never done. When the Senate Sitting of August, 2011 asked the Russian company the whereabouts of the $120million dredging money, the company's then Deputy Managing Director, Vitaly Kuzrestov, said that the money has been used for Environment Impact Assessment."
"The Federal Government's Five percent share in Eleme Petrochemical worth USD27 million was never presented at the National Council on Privatization before it was sold to Indorama. Indorama recovered this amount selling Polyethylene and Urea to the entire West Africa sub-region in just 14 months.
"The Atikulated Business Theory is a process of selling to yourself government assets that leaves millions in penury, to set his personal businesses that provide for a few. Atiku didn't employ the few hundreds he employed because he likes them, he needs them to work to preserve what he took from the Government that mortgaged our future.
"A man who supervised sales of over 145 federal investments as a vice president, without a thought for the future and today he dares accuse president Bola Tinubu of mortgaging our future. In the words of H.E Peter Obi, if Nigerians are in doubt of all that I've said, they should 'Go and verify!'
"To H.E. Atiku Abubakar, in the Christian bible the book of John chapter 8: verse 32 says 'And now you know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' Learn to be a statesman rather than a salesman."
