Atiku Media Office Slams Tinubu’s Alleged Smear Campaign as Political Hogwash
posted 28th March 2025
Atiku Media Office Slams Tinubu’s Alleged Smear Campaign as Political Hogwash
Abuja, 27 March 2025 – The Atiku Media Office has fiercely denounced what it describes as a “blatant lie” and a “futile campaign of calumny” orchestrated by allies of President Bola A. Tinubu against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The statement comes in response to reports circulating in parts of the Nigerian media, which allege that Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, through an intermediary named Ms Aisha Achimugu, provided Atiku with funds purportedly belonging to Lagos State during the 2023 presidential election period.
In a strongly worded press release issued on Thursday, the Atiku Media Office dismissed the claims as “contrived political hogwash” designed to serve Tinubu’s political interests. The statement, signed by Paul Ibe, asserts that Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007, has never met or had any personal connection with Governor Sanwo-Olu, rendering the alleged financial transaction implausible. “How is it possible for an Atiku that does not know and had no connection with Sanwo-Olu to be having a transaction with him involving the exchange of money – let alone during the Presidential election of 2023 in which his boss was a contestant?” the release questioned.
The media office accused Tinubu’s camp of resorting to “kindergarten propaganda” in a bid to tarnish Atiku’s reputation while simultaneously targeting Sanwo-Olu, who, it claims, has “fallen out of favour with the ‘Bourdillon Cult’” – a reference to Tinubu’s political stronghold in Lagos. The statement suggests a dual motive: to discredit Atiku’s efforts in building an opposition coalition ahead of future elections and to provide a pretext for removing Sanwo-Olu from his gubernatorial post.
Adding to the intrigue, the press release highlighted what it called a “poorly executed” element of the alleged smear campaign: an unnamed aide to Sanwo-Olu reportedly criticising the governor in the original news story. “Pray, who does that?” the statement quipped, casting doubt on the credibility of the claims.
The Atiku Media Office also took aim at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which was cited in the reports as investigating the matter.
Challenging the agency to disclose the results of its alleged probe, the statement argued that transparency is owed not only to President Tinubu but to the Nigerian public, including Atiku and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
Describing the affair as a “voyage of misadventure,” the Atiku Media Office demanded an immediate halt to what it sees as a baseless attack on the former vice president’s character. “This campaign of calumny against the person and reputation of Atiku Abubakar must be halted immediately and with alacrity, too,” the release concluded.
As political tensions simmer in Nigeria, this latest salvo underscores the deepening rift between Tinubu’s administration and opposition figures like Atiku, who remains a prominent stakeholder in the country’s political landscape.
Neither the Lagos State Government nor the EFCC has yet responded to the allegations or the Atiku Media Office’s demands for clarity.
