The Presidency has strongly criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over what it described as an attempt to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty by lobbying the United States against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, condemned Atiku’s reported decision to petition U.S. President Donald Trump, members of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. State Department over a decades-old civil forfeiture case involving President Tinubu.
According to the Presidency, the matter dates back to 1993 and was resolved more than 30 years ago without any criminal conviction or finding of guilt. It argued that the issue has since been overtaken by history, the verdict of the Nigerian electorate in the 2023 presidential election and the judgment of the Supreme Court affirming President Tinubu’s election.
The Presidency described Atiku’s latest move as an act unbecoming of a former Vice President and elder statesman, insisting that Nigeria is a sovereign nation whose internal political affairs should not be taken before foreign governments for political advantage.
Onanuga maintained that while lobbying is recognised within the American political system, deploying foreign lobbyists to recycle allegations that have already been litigated and debated amounts to an attempt to externalise Nigeria’s domestic politics and diminish the country’s democratic institutions.
The statement also challenged Atiku to address questions surrounding his own record in the United States. It referenced his mention in the William Jefferson bribery investigation and the 2010 U.S. Senate report, Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories, which discussed financial transactions involving Atiku Abubakar and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas.
The Presidency further criticised Atiku’s role in Nigeria’s privatisation programme during the Obasanjo administration, alleging that strategic national assets were disposed of under controversial circumstances, with lasting consequences for workers and the economy.
According to the statement, rather than offering practical solutions to Nigeria’s economic and security challenges, the former Vice President has continued to pursue political campaigns abroad instead of engaging Nigerians with policy alternatives.
The Presidency stressed that President Tinubu remains undistracted by what it described as political theatrics, saying his administration is focused on delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda through economic reforms, investment promotion, improved security and efforts to restore Nigeria’s standing in the international community.
It added that President Tinubu will continue to concentrate on governance while allowing Nigerians to judge his administration based on its performance rather than what it called politically motivated campaigns from the opposition.
Source: Statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, July 23, 2026.