…Party cites Mambilla, Siemens, Jefferson cases, $40m US financial probe
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched a blistering attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of being linked to a series of local and international corruption controversies and warning Nigerians against entrusting him with the presidency.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, CON, the ruling party cited controversies surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, the Siemens bribery scandal, the William Jefferson case and a 2010 United States Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions involving Atiku and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas.
The APC said the cases raised serious questions about Atiku’s record and suitability for the highest political office, urging voters to scrutinise the former vice president’s past ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“The media and public discourse have been awash with damning reports of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s alleged dealings in local and international bribery and corruption schemes,” Morka said.
The party’s latest attack follows renewed scrutiny of the Mambilla power project after an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal in Paris examined a $500,000 payment made in 2003 to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then-wife, by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company.
The payment was made through an offshore company months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a build-operate-transfer contract for the Mambilla project. The tribunal raised concerns about the transaction, while Atiku has denied that the arbitration amounted to a corruption finding against him. (TheCable)
The APC also revisited the Siemens bribery scandal. US authorities had alleged that Siemens paid at least $4.5 million in bribes connected to Nigerian telecommunications contracts, with about $2.8 million allegedly routed through a bank account in the name of Jennifer Douglas. Siemens later agreed to pay more than $1.6 billion in US and German penalties over global bribery violations. (Homeland Security Committee)
Morka further cited the case involving former US Congressman William Jefferson, who was convicted on corruption-related charges. US court records stated that Jefferson received $100,000 intended as a bribe payment to Atiku in connection with a proposed telecommunications venture involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television. (Midpage)
The APC also pointed to a 2010 report by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which said Jennifer Douglas helped move more than $40 million in suspect funds into the United States through offshore corporations between 2000 and 2008. The report also referenced the alleged routing of Siemens-related payments through an account in her name. (Homeland Security Committee)
Morka said the issues cited by the party were documented in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations and legislative reports, arguing that they warranted public scrutiny ahead of the election.
The APC also criticised Atiku over his reported change in position on fuel subsidy, contrasting his 2023 position favouring subsidy removal with his more recent promise to restore the scheme if elected.
The party alleged that such a policy would undermine the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while claiming that the country’s foreign reserves had risen to more than $54 billion.
Morka further invoked former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s past criticism of Atiku, recalling comments in Obasanjo’s book, My Watch, and his reported August 2026 statement that choosing Atiku as his running mate in 1999 was the biggest mistake of his presidency.
The APC concluded by describing Atiku as “categorically unfit” for the presidency and urged Nigerians to reject what it described as his “desperate quest for presidential power.”
The statement comes as Atiku, now the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), prepares for another bid for the presidency in 2027. (Premium Times Nigeria)
