- The Democratic Front (TDF) criticised Atiku Abubakar for accusing the Tinubu government of corruption, especially regarding the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway
- The group said Atiku lacks the right to accuse others of corruption while having unresolved corruption allegations against himself
- The TDF questioned Atiku’s moral credibility and highlighted his former principal, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s negative portrayal of him in his book “My Watch”
TheTalk.NG journalist Nurudeen Lawal has 8 years of experience covering political campaigns and elections
FCT, Abuja – Amid the controversies trailing the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, a political group, the Democratic Front (TDF), has said former vice president Atiku Abubakar lacks the moral credentials to raise accusations of corruption on others.
TheTalk.NG notes that Atiku had condemned the Bola Tinubu government’s award of contract for the coastal road project, describing it as wasteful and a highway to fraud.
The Democratic Front has faulted Atiku’s comment on the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
Photo credit: Atiku Abubakar HausaSource: Facebook
However, the TDF, in a statement on Wednesday, April 17, said with the plethora of yet unresolved allegations of corruption hanging on the neck of the former vice president, it does not lie in his mouth to accuse others of corruption.
Why Atiku can’t accuse others of corruption
In the statement signed by its chairman Danjuma Mohammed and secretary Wale Adedayo, the group said that it was most surprising that someone who had been enmeshed in allegations of lack of transparency in the privatization process of most of the nation’s priced assets would be the one to accuse others.
“Well, he may assume that everyone would toe the same line taken by his government in disposing and squandering the national wealth,” the group said.
“It interestingly beats all imagination that a man in the eye of the storm and under overwhelming accusations could find the moral courage to pontificate on the process of the award of contract for the construction of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Super Highway Project.
“As usual, he misrepresented facts and sought to turn black to white in a vain attempt to reverse the current gains being brought about by the new Administration in Nigeria.
“His misrepresentations over the coastal highway project is delusional and an insult to public sensibility, which is clear evidence that corruption is fighting back,” it added.
Corruption: How Obasanjo described Atiku
The political movement also recalled how Atiku’s former principal, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo described him.
The group said:
“These are Obasanjo’s direct words in his book ,”My Watch” and to our knowledge has not been challenged or controverted: “What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background which was somewhat shadowy, his propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgment, his belief and reliance on marabouts, his lack of transparency, his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth and national interest for self and selfish interest'”.
“For us, it is neither funny nor coincidental to note that the name, Atiku Abubakar always resounds when issues of corruption are being raised and this is not just because of the usual envy of perceived political opponents, but due to his own direct alleged involvement in a plethora of mega corruption cases in Nigeria and abroad.
“Even before former President Olusegun Obasanjo published his book, which contained accounts of Atiku’s alleged corruption escapades, the former vice president, have been repeatedly mentioned in cases of corruption that directly affected the nation’s economy and international image.
“We recall how sometimes in August 2011, Nigerians were informed through a Senate public hearing on how Atiku Abubakar aided his cohorts and fronts to ring fence over 70% of Federal Government’s assets in a brazen daylight robbery, he supervised in the name of privatization.”
The group also criticised Atiku’s actions during his tenure as head of the privatization process under Obasanjo’s administration, accusing him of selling off major public investments at low prices and under questionable circumstances.
It highlighted specific entities, including NAFCON, Eleme Petrochemical Company, and MM2, among others, sold in what they deem as one of the worst privatization auctions in history.
The group questioned whether Atiku’s actions were patriotic and suggested that his legacy may not be one of respect and cooperation internationally.
The TDF said it was not shocked that the former vice president would assume that every top public official would display similar tendencies in office.
Read more about Lagos-Calabar coastal highway:
Tinubu’s Minister Speaks on Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Cost, Completion Date
Lagos-Calabar coastal road: “You darken counsel without knowledge”, Umahi to Atiku
How Tinubu Put Personal Business Interests Before Infrastructure, Atiku Makes Fresh Allegation
Ohanaeze Ndigbo urges Atiku to support Tinubu administration
In another report, the apex south-eastern socio-cultural group Ohanaeze Ndigbo has applauded the federal government’s effort to construct a highway from Lagos to Calabar.
The group berated Atiku for engaging in heated debates on whether standard procedures were strictly followed when awarding the project to the contractor.
It urged Atiku to see the positive side of the government and stop being always antagonistic.
Source: TheTalk.NG
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