You Owe Nigerians An Explanation About Your Background – Atiku Fires Tinubu

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to address what he described as the longstanding public controversies regarding his age, family background, and educational records.

According to him, Nigerians deserve to know.

NEWSNGR reports that Atiku issued a fresh challenge in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

According to him, leadership involves transparency, and Nigerians deserve a leader who chooses transparency over opacity, accountability over expediency and truth over convenience.

“Leadership is not simply about exercising power. It is about inspiring confidence. Transparency is not a concession to critics; it is an obligation owed to citizens.

“History does not merely remember the scandals that confronted governments. It remembers how governments responded to them.

“It remembers whether they chose transparency over opacity, accountability over expediency and truth over convenience.”

Speaking against the backdrop of the controversy involving the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), the former Vice President said justice must not be selective, and President Tinubu has the chance to demonstrate that no individual is above scrutiny and no issue is too sensitive for public accountability.

He called for thoroughness and accountability in investigations into public controversies.

The former vice-president cited the suspension of a former minister of humanitarian affairs over alleged financial impropriety and what he described as unresolved questions surrounding transparency at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

He also cited allegations of crude oil theft, refinery rehabilitation spending, procurement controversies, and budget discrepancies as examples of unresolved issues.

“Anything less will only deepen the growing perception that official silence has become this government’s preferred instrument for managing scandals instead of resolving them.

“History teaches that governments are not destroyed by allegations; they are diminished by their refusal to confront them”, Atiku submitted.