The Grave Is Not A Witness Box — Atiku Replies Obasanjo

 PRESS STATEMENT

THE GRAVE IS NOT A WITNESS BOX

— ATIKU REPLIES OBASANJO

Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo's latest allegations against him, describing them as a desperate attempt to rewrite history and confer political advantage on his preferred candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the former President's decision to accuse him of bribing the late Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na'Abba to impeach him was not only reckless but fundamentally unfair to a man who is no longer alive to defend his name.

"As Africans, we understand the solemn duty of speaking truthfully about the dead. It is therefore deeply troubling that former President Obasanjo has chosen this moment to allege that I gave the late Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na'Abba a bribe to impeach him.

"If this allegation were true, why did he never make it while Rt. Hon. Na'Abba was alive? Why wait until the only man who could confirm or refute the claim has departed this world? By invoking a deceased man as the principal witness to such a grave allegation, former President Obasanjo has denied Nigerians the opportunity of hearing the other side of the story.

"The late Rt. Hon. Ghali Na'Abba cannot now defend his own integrity or respond to the allegation that he accepted a bribe. It is unfair to his memory and contrary to our cultural values to conscript the dead into contemporary political battles when they no longer have a voice."

Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo's allegation that he bribed the late Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na'Abba to impeach him as politically motivated, aimed at boosting the electoral fortunes of Obasanjo's preferred candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Friday, Atiku said; "Coming at a time when the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election is taking shape, the obvious objective is to besmirch my person and reputation and confer an undeserved political advantage on the former President's kinsman. Nigerians, however, know better. They are too discerning to be distracted by stale allegations resurrected for political convenience".

The ADC leader urged Obasanjo to publicly declare his political preference rather than rely on unverifiable allegations, saying, "If former President Obasanjo has chosen to take a political position ahead of 2027, he should simply declare it and allow Nigerians to judge it on its merits, rather than attempting to influence public opinion through allegations that can no longer be tested because the principal witness is no longer alive."

The former vice president questioned why Obasanjo chose to make the allegation only after Na'Abba's death, arguing that this denied Nigerians the opportunity to hear the other side of the story.