Sadly, Ghali Na’aba Isn’t Alive To Share His Side Of The Story But Obasanjo’s Bribery Allegations ‘Unfair’, ‘Untrue’ -Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential candidate, on Friday accused his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo of promoting half-truths while also describing the bribery allegations he raised against him and late Hon Ghali Na’aba as untrue.

Recall that Chief Obasanjo had in a letter sent to former governor Olusegun Osoba accused Alhaji Atiku  Abubakar of making the sum of N5 million available to late Hon Ghali Na’aba, who was then the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with the intention of getting him impeached as president.

The former president said this in his response to Aremo Osoba’s article titled ‘How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003’. 

‘Na’Abba’s impeachment moves against me began in the presidency by the Vice President, who on a Friday when I was out of the office, invited Na’Abba to his office and convinced him that I should have only one term as president.

He gave him 5 million naira to begin his impeachment work. It was all noted, recorded and reported to me by my Chief of Staff, a professional intelligence officer’ he said.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu not only asserted that Obasanjo’s latest allegations against him are untrue but also called it a desperate attempt to rewrite history and confer political advantage on his preferred candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

 ‘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 is true, why did he not raise 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 to hear 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’ he said.

The former Vice President also said it is intriguing that the former president claimed to know about this and yet did nothing or take punitive actions.

‘If there was indeed evidence of any criminal conduct as alleged, Nigerians are entitled to ask why no action was taken at the material time by a government that wielded the full powers of the Nigerian state.

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’ he said.

The ADC presidential candidate also said his former boss has a consuming hatred for him because he opposed his third term agenda.

 ‘My offence was that I stood firmly against the unconstitutional third-term agenda. As a democrat, I chose the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law. 

Instead of surrendering democratic principles on the altar of personal ambition, I defended the Constitution and successfully asserted my rights through the courts in a series of landmark legal victories against a sitting President. Those battles are now part of Nigeria’s democratic history. It is evident that the bitterness arising from that defining period has failed to leave former President Obasanjo.

 The task before leaders today is not to rewrite history but to rescue the future. Nigerians are more interested in knowing why food prices continue to soar, why public debt continues to rise despite increased revenues, and why scandal after scandal continues to trail the current administration than in revisiting political disagreements from over two decades ago.

 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.

Our focus remains unwavering: offering credible alternatives, defending democracy, demanding accountability and working with all patriotic Nigerians to restore competent, transparent and people-centred leadership to our country. Nigerians deserve solutions to today’s problems, not recycled political tales from yesterday’ Alhaji Atiku submitted-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079,  08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you