By Abdullahi Sarki
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has rejected allegations by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that he bribed the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, to initiate impeachment proceedings against him while they both served in office.
Atiku described the allegation as an attempt to rewrite Nigeria’s political history and influence public opinion ahead of the 2027 general election.
His reaction was contained in a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
Titled “The Grave Is Not a Witness Box,” the statement argued that it was fundamentally unfair to accuse a deceased public figure who could no longer defend himself.
“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,” Atiku said.
The former vice president questioned why the allegation was never raised while Na’Abba was alive to either confirm or deny the claim.
“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?” he asked.
According to Atiku, fairness and justice require that serious allegations be made when all parties involved have an opportunity to respond.
“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.”
Atiku also argued that if there had been credible evidence supporting the allegation, the government at the time possessed the constitutional authority to investigate and prosecute any wrongdoing.
“If there was indeed evidence of any criminal conduct as alleged, Nigerians are entitled to ask why no action was taken at the time by a government that wielded the full powers of the Nigerian state,” he said.
The former vice president further suggested that the timing of the allegation was politically significant, coming as political parties and aspirants prepare for the 2027 presidential election.
According to him, the renewed allegation was intended to damage his reputation and shape public perception ahead of the polls.
“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.”
Atiku also revisited his long-standing political disagreement with Obasanjo, attributing their strained relationship to his opposition to the former president’s controversial 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. Rather than surrender 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.
“It is evident that the bitterness arising from that defining period has failed to leave former President Obasanjo,” he said.
The former vice president said he would rather focus on the country’s pressing economic and governance challenges than prolonged arguments over political events that occurred more than two decades ago.
“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,” he said.
Atiku added that former President Obasanjo is constitutionally free to support any presidential aspirant ahead of the 2027 general election.
He, however, maintained that such political support should be expressed openly instead of relying on allegations involving individuals who are no longer alive to defend themselves.
“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.”
Atiku’s statement came in response to Obasanjo’s allegation that the former vice president sponsored an impeachment plot against him during his first term in office and secretly worked with political allies to frustrate his re-election bid in 2003.
Obasanjo claimed that Atiku masterminded the impeachment move through the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba.
According to the former president, Atiku invited Na’Abba to his office and allegedly handed him N5 million to begin impeachment proceedings.
Obasanjo said, “And that takes me to Na’Abba’s impeachment you glowingly talked about. And the way you wrote about it, talking about remorse would suggest stark ignorance on your part or being an accomplice. And both were possible.
“Na’Abba’s impeachment began at 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, as he had convinced himself and some others but of insignificant number, that I should have only one term as President and this was the act of a man I brought up from governorship to Vice-President.
“From the first day as Vice-President, he raised campaigners for his presidency. On the Friday, he invited Na’Abba; he gave him N5 million to begin his impeachment work. It was all noted, recorded and reported to me by my Chief of Staff, a professional intelligence officer, Obasanjo alleged”
