The Presidency on Thursday criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his reported move to revive President Bola Tinubu's decades-old U.S. civil forfeiture case through a Washington-based lobbying firm.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, described the move as an attempt to undermine Nigeria's sovereignty and international image, saying Atiku had chosen to externalise the country's domestic politics for personal political gain.
Onanuga said the former vice president's decision to hire a foreign lobbying firm to circulate documents relating to Tinubu's 1993 U.S. civil forfeiture case among officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and members of Congress was "self-defeating" and unbecoming of a statesman.
He also took a swipe at Atiku, saying, "If Atiku were Chinese, he would be rotting away in jail for his crimes against Nigerian people."
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The presidential aide's reaction followed reports that Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. had commenced the distribution of U.S. Department of Justice records relating to allegations against Tinubu to members of the Trump administration and the U.S. Congress. The firm was reportedly engaged by Atiku under a 12-month lobbying contract valued at $1.2 million.
Onanuga maintained that Tinubu's forfeiture case was a civil matter, not a criminal conviction, and noted that the issue had already been canvassed before Nigerian courts during the 2023 presidential election litigation.
He accused Atiku of attempting to reopen a matter that had long been settled, insisting that the effort would not diminish the legitimacy of Tinubu's presidency.
The Presidency further criticised Atiku's record as chairman of the National Council on Privatisation during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, alleging that the privatisation programme led to the disposal of national assets at undervalued prices and the loss of thousands of jobs.
Onanuga said President Tinubu remained focused on implementing his administration's economic and governance reforms and would not be distracted by what he described as politically motivated attacks.
