Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fired back at former President Olusegun Obasanjo over allegations that he bribed the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, to orchestrate moves to impeach him during their time in office.
Atiku described Obasanjo’s claim as false, politically motivated and disrespectful to the memory of the late Na’Abba, accusing the former president of dragging a deceased statesman into a political controversy when he can no longer defend himself.
In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Obasanjo’s comments amounted to an attempt to rewrite history and influence Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election.
The former vice president was reacting to remarks reportedly made by Obasanjo while responding to comments by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba on political events leading up to the 2003 general election.
Obasanjo had alleged that Atiku gave Na’Abba N5 million to mobilise members of the House of Representatives to impeach him during his first term as president.
However, Atiku dismissed the allegation, insisting that it was unfair to make such a claim after the death of Na’Abba, who passed away recently and is no longer alive to confirm or deny the accusation.
In the statement titled, “The Grave Is Not a Witness Box,” Atiku said the former president had shown a lack of respect for both the deceased and Nigerian cultural values by making serious allegations involving a man who could no longer speak for himself.
“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,” Atiku said.
He questioned why Obasanjo did not make the allegation while Na’Abba was alive if he truly believed it was supported by facts.
“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?” he asked.
According to Atiku, by raising the allegation after Na’Abba’s death, Obasanjo had denied Nigerians the opportunity to hear the late former Speaker’s side of the story.
He argued that the allegation not only questioned his own integrity but also suggested that Na’Abba accepted a bribe, a claim the late lawmaker could no longer challenge.
“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 said.
The former vice president also questioned why no legal action was taken against him if there had been credible evidence to support the allegation at the time it supposedly occurred.
He maintained that the timing of Obasanjo’s remarks suggested they were politically motivated, coming at a period when political parties and aspirants were already positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
According to Atiku, the objective of the allegation was to tarnish his image and give an unfair political advantage to another aspirant.
“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,” he said.
He, however, expressed confidence that Nigerians would not be distracted by what he described as old allegations being revived for political reasons.
“Nigerians, however, know better. They are too discerning to be distracted by stale allegations resurrected for political convenience,” he added.
Atiku also revisited the long-running political disagreement between himself and Obasanjo, tracing the breakdown in their relationship to his opposition to the controversial third-term agenda during the Obasanjo administration.
The former vice president said he chose to defend Nigeria’s Constitution and democratic principles rather than support efforts to amend the Constitution in a way that would have allowed Obasanjo to seek another term in office.
“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,” he said.
He recalled that he challenged several actions of the Obasanjo administration in court and secured a number of legal victories, describing those cases as important milestones in Nigeria’s democratic development.
According to him, the political bitterness arising from that period has continued to shape Obasanjo’s attitude toward him.
“It is evident that the bitterness arising from that defining period has failed to leave former President Obasanjo,” Atiku stated.
Despite the latest exchange, Atiku said he would not allow himself to become distracted by arguments over political events that happened more than two decades ago while Nigerians are facing serious economic and social challenges.
He said political leaders should concentrate on addressing issues affecting citizens rather than reopening old political battles.
“The task before leaders today is not to rewrite history but to rescue the future,” he said.
According to him, Nigerians are more concerned about the rising cost of living, increasing food prices, growing public debt and allegations of corruption than disputes dating back to the early years of the Fourth Republic.
He also said Obasanjo had every right to support any presidential aspirant ahead of the 2027 election but urged him to do so openly instead of using allegations that cannot 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,” Atiku said.
The latest exchange is another chapter in the long-standing political rivalry between the two former leaders, whose relationship deteriorated during the closing years of their administration between 1999 and 2007.
Atiku served as vice president throughout Obasanjo’s two terms in office, but disagreements over governance, succession politics and the proposed third-term constitutional amendment created a deep division between them. The fallout led to years of political and legal battles that have continued to shape their public relationship.
With political activities ahead of the 2027 general election already gathering momentum, the renewed war of words between the two prominent politicians is expected to further fuel debate over Nigeria’s political history and the alliances likely to shape the next presidential contest.