Probe me over $16bn power spending if you have evidence, Atiku dares FG

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Federal Government to investigate and prosecute him if it has evidence linking him to the alleged $16bn power expenditure while he was in government.

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Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, also accused the President Bola Tinubu-led government of recycling old allegations to divert attention from questions over the use of revenues saved from petrol subsidy removal.

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Atiku, in a statement released on Wednesday issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the resurfacing of allegations surrounding power-sector projects, privatisation and public assets was an attempt to shift public attention from the economic hardship confronting Nigerians.

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The former vice president also challenged the government to account for the resources it had gained since the removal of the petrol subsidy, asking, “Where is the people’s money?”

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Atiku said the allegations against him had been repeatedly raised over the years without resulting in any prosecution, despite successive governments having access to the investigative machinery of the state.

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“The National Assembly investigated the power projects. I was never invited to answer any allegation of wrongdoing.

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“Yes, I chaired the National Council on Privatisation as vice president. But on the power project, I disagreed with its concept and did not preside over its implementation. The responsible minister did. The same applies to the Aluminium Smelter matter.

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“I have repeatedly asked to be investigated. I left office in 2007 and have spent much of the period since then opposing governments in power. If there is evidence that I stole public money, why has no government produced it before a court?

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“It is still not too late. Investigate me. Invite me. Produce the evidence. Prosecute me if you have a case. But propaganda cannot substitute for evidence,” the statement read in part.

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The ADC chieftain’s latest challenge comes amid an intensifying political confrontation between the opposition and the Federal Government over the state of the economy and the impact of the government’s reforms.

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Atiku has made the economic consequences of subsidy removal a central part of his criticism of the administration, arguing that Nigerians have endured substantial increases in the cost of petrol, transportation, food and other basic necessities without seeing commensurate benefits from the additional government revenues.

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He noted that the controversy over the power projects was being revived because his demand for greater transparency over the proceeds of subsidy removal had become politically uncomfortable for the administration.

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“They removed subsidy from the poor and promised that the sacrifice would free resources for development. Nigerians accepted extraordinary pain on that promise.

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“Today, petrol is more expensive, transportation is more expensive, food is more expensive and the purchasing power of the Nigerian worker has been devastated,” he added.

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He further questioned the government’s fiscal priorities, alleging that while ordinary Nigerians were being asked to endure the consequences of subsidy removal, powerful economic interests continued to benefit from fiscal incentives, waivers and concessions.

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“Meanwhile, government revenues have increased, while fiscal incentives, waivers, tax credits and concessions continue to be available to powerful economic interests.

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“So our question remains brutally simple: where is the people’s money?” he asked.

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Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy shortly after his inauguration in May 2023, ending a long-standing system under which the Federal Government subsidised the cost of the product.

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The government defended the decision as necessary to reduce pressure on public finances and redirect resources towards infrastructure and social programmes.

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The policy, however, triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to higher transportation and living costs, making subsidy removal one of the most politically contentious issues of the Tinubu presidency.

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The government has subsequently introduced various measures aimed at cushioning the effects of the reforms while maintaining that the previous subsidy regime was financially unsustainable.

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Atiku has proposed alternative economic measures and has increasingly positioned accountability, cost-of-living pressures and the management of public resources at the centre of his campaign.

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