Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the last election, has accused President Bola Tinubu, his family, and associates of mortgaging the future of Nigerians.
Atiku made these allegations in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Wednesday.
Atiku expressed concern that breaking free from these alleged actions by President Tinubu will be nearly impossible even after he leaves office.
He compared Tinubu’s involvement in Lagos public enterprises to his actions at the federal level.
“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,” Atiku said.
Atiku criticized the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, pointing out that the government-owned oil company has placed its retail arm under the control of OVH, a company partly owned by Oando, which is led by Wale Tinubu, a relative of the president.
“In October 2022, just five months before the elections, the NNPC Retail controversially announced it had acquired OVH and all its filling stations. NNPCL already had about 550 filling stations across the country but claimed it was enhancing its capacity by acquiring OVH, which had only 94 stations and 100 others leased,” Atiku stated.
Atiku further criticized the deal, highlighting that the NNPC did not disclose the purchase price of OVH or the terms of the acquisition.
He noted that a Freedom of Information request by Premium Times was rejected by the NNPC, which claimed to be a private company despite being government-owned.
“Tinubu then appointed his former boss at Mobil, turned ally, Pius Akinyelure, as NNPC Chairman, while he took on the role of Minister of Petroleum,” Atiku added.
He also highlighted the absurdity of OVH, previously owned by NNPC Retail, now acquiring NNPC Retail, which means that Wale Tinubu’s Oando now owns 49 percent of NNPC Retail.
Atiku described this situation as a clear case of illogical business transactions and abuse of office by President Tinubu, accusing him of preventing the NNPC from becoming a public liability company as required by the Petroleum Industry Act.
He also expressed doubts about the credibility of the legislative investigation into the NNPC and its leadership, stating, “Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who is heading the National Assembly panel, is a known supporter of Tinubu. He served as a commissioner under Tinubu in Lagos State and publicly called him his godfather.”
Atiku added that since Tinubu is the Petroleum Minister, he should be held responsible for the issues in the sector.
Commenting on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, Atiku explained that the project is now under litigation. He mentioned that the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported a close relationship between Tinubu’s son, Seyi, and Gilbert Chagoury, who was awarded the contract without competitive bidding.
“It is no surprise that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway, which together will cost over $24 billion, were approved without competitive bidding. It seems that whatever Tinubu wants, he gets,” Atiku said.
