Breaking: Atiku Turns the Tables on Tinubu Over Chinese Legal Standard
- Atiku Abubakar fired back at the Presidency after its spokesman used China as a benchmark to attack him over corruption allegations
- The former vice president's aide said the China comparison exposed President Tinubu to scrutiny over a $460,000 US civil forfeiture case
- Atiku challenged the Presidency to apply the full Chinese standard on corruption, budget scandals, and abuse of public office
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has turned the tables on the presidency, saying its attempt to drag him before a hypothetical Chinese legal standard has instead shone a spotlight on President Bola Tinubu's own record.
The response came through a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, after the Presidency's spokesman introduced China into what had been an exchange over the United States Government's reply to a Nigerian diplomatic correspondence.
Source: Twitter
Atiku: The comparison backfires
Shaibu said the Presidency had been parading Washington's routine diplomatic reply as though it were proof of Tinubu's innocence, only for its own spokesman to stumble into a far more damaging comparison.
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Shaibu's statement reads in part:
"It takes a peculiar kind of unintelligence for a spokesman to set out to drag an opponent before a hypothetical Chinese court, only to end up dragging his own principal into the dock."
He pointed out that China imposes the death penalty for the most serious drug offences, arguing that the Presidency's chosen benchmark would invite Nigerians to apply that very standard to Tinubu's administration. Specifically, Atiku's camp raised the matter of $460,000 forfeited to the US Government in a civil forfeiture proceeding, with the funds alleged to be connected to narcotics and money laundering.
Atiku challenges presidency on full China standard
Atiku's camp went further, arguing that a full application of Chinese governance norms would raise serious questions about the Tinubu administration. The statement cited allegations of padding and irregularities in the national budget, claims surrounding a senior presidential aide accused of creating a fake government agency, and what it described as deteriorating living conditions under the Renewed Hope agenda.
On his own record, Atiku maintained that he has never been indicted or convicted by any court in Nigeria or anywhere in the world for corruption, narcotics offences, or any other criminal matter.
He also rejected the Presidency's treatment of the US diplomatic reply as a form of judicial clearance, saying diplomatic correspondence between governments is routine and carries no legal weight as a declaration of innocence.
Atiku urged the Presidency to redirect its energy towards addressing economic hardship, hunger, insecurity, and what he described as institutional decline, rather than pursuing diversions that, in his words, "collapse at the slightest contact with the facts."
Source: Twitter
Obasanjo fires Atiku, Osoba
Legit.ng earlier reported that former President Olusegun Obasanjo fired back at ex-Ogun Governor Segun Osoba over his account of the political events before the 2003 general elections.
Obasanjo alleged that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar secretly worked to block his re-election and masterminded an impeachment plot during his first term.
The former President revealed the name of the then House of Representatives Speaker whom he claimed received money from Atiku to begin impeachment proceedings.
Source: Legit.ng
