Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo, accusing his former boss of sustaining a two-decade campaign of “lies, political manipulation and orchestrated deceit” that is now collapsing “like a pack of cards.”
The fresh hostilities follow Obasanjo’s claim on July 23 that Atiku orchestrated a plot with the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, to impeach him during their 1999–2007 administration. In a statement issued on Sunday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku dismissed the charge as a malicious fabrication targeting a dead man, noting that Na’Abba died in 2023 and cannot defend himself.
Ibe pointed to counter-narratives from key political figures of that era to debunk Obasanjo’s assertions, noting that it has become routine for the former president to revive claims of betrayal whenever an election cycle approaches. He cited former House Chief Whip Abubakar Bwari, who insisted Na’Abba never sought Obasanjo’s removal and that Atiku actually acted as an emissary to calm aggrieved lawmakers.
Addressing another long-standing friction, the build-up to the 2003 presidential primary, the Atiku camp cited video evidence from former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. Kalu recalled that rather than forcing Obasanjo to his knees as long rumoured, it was Atiku who knelt before 17 PDP governors to lobby for Obasanjo’s re-election, refusing to betray the president who had trusted him.
The statement also revisited the 2007 Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) corruption probe, which Atiku maintained was a politically motivated witch-hunt sparked by his opposition to Obasanjo’s third-term ambition. To illustrate the regime’s alleged abuse of state power during the investigation, Ibe cited the autobiography of the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, titled Awujale.
The late monarch’s memoirs detailed how EFCC operatives raided the home of Globacom Chairman Mike Adenuga in July 2006 under the guise of tracing PTDF funds, despite Adenuga securing his licence financing through BNP Paribas Bank. Adetona’s account revealed a stark contrast between Obasanjo’s public harassment of the businessman and his private dealings, noting that Obasanjo later solicited Adenuga’s financial help to construct an administrative block at his private institution, Bells University.
The feud highlights the enduring rift between the two leaders, whose political partnership unravelled during their second term over succession disputes, corruption allegations, and the failed third-term agenda. Following their fallout, Atiku left the ruling party to contest the 2007 presidency under the Action Congress and remains a central figure in opposition politics as the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Ibe urged the public to view Obasanjo’s latest claims through the prism of a deeply contested 20-year feud, asserting that the accusations against the former vice president would fail under scrutiny.
When contacted for a response to the statement, Kehinde Akinyemi, Special Assistant on Media to former President Obasanjo, offered a brief reply: “No comment.”