Politics
Atiku to Tinubu: You’re no Warren Buffet! US billionaire never linked to drugs
“Tinubu would do well to stop comparing himself with Warren Buffet whose source of wealth has never been linked to narcotics by US authorities,” were the words with which Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called out Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, to come clean on his source of wealth.
The former Vice President, who dismissed the claims of the former Governor of Lagos State made in his interview with BBC Focus on Africa, on Tuesday, that he he “inherited” real estate which contributed to his wealth, wondered how this could have been possible, given his poor background.
Tinubu had told his host: “Are they enemies of wealth, if they are not enemies of wealth–investments do yield. I have an example of Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in America and the world. He started with stock buying and brokerage. I inherited great real estate, I turned the values around.
“I am not denying my wealth. I was the most investigated, the most accused governor in opposition for eight years up to 2007. Since I left office, I am still there, I have not taken a government appointment, no government contract.”
Conveying his position through Phrank Shaibu, his Special Assistant on Public Communication, on Sunday, Atiku, lashed out: “Obviously thrown off balance when the BBC reporter asked him to disclose the source of his stupendous wealth, APC Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, responded by asking, “Are you an enemy of wealth?” He subsequently told a fable of how he inherited properties and also traded stocks like Warren Buffet. This is complete hogwash. Interestingly, Tinubu had told a Lagos State House of Assembly committee that was set up to investigate his academic records in 1999 that he could not complete secondary school because his family was too poor.
“The Governor spoke about his difficult and traumatic youth and how he scaled the hurdles of life as a self-made man. After his primary education, the governor said he was admitted into secondary school but he could not further his education because of his poverty. The Governor thus had to engage in menial jobs before he proceeded to the United States of America in search of the Golden Fleece.
“So how did Tinubu, whose family was too poor to send him to school despite a free education policy at the time, inherit properties from the same family? This is obviously balderdash. Tinubu would do well to stop comparing himself with Warren Buffet whose source of wealth has never been linked to narcotics by US authorities.”
“The questions on Tinubu’s source of wealth did not start now. US authorities said Tinubu revealed in bank documents that he worked with Mobil Nigeria Limited in 1989 and his salary was just $2,400 and he had no other sources of income.
“But records from his First Heritage Bank account showed that in 1990 (just within one year), Tinubu deposited $661,000 into his individual money market account and in 1991 deposited $1,216,500 into the same money market account. Where did he get the money from?
“On the other hand, Atiku Abubakar’s source of wealth has never been in doubt. The ones he has listed publicly include: NICOTES (now Intels) founded in 1989; Prodeco, 1996; Atiku farms, 1982; and ABTI schools, 1992. Some of these companies like INTELS have had reputable Nigerians like the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and even traditional rulers on its board. We dare Tinubu to list his companies and source of wealth as Atiku has done.”
“Bola Tinubu is a man who publicly boasted in Osun State in 2018 that he was richer than Osun. In 2019, he had bullion vans on his premises in Ikoyi and admitted to sharing money with his supporters.
“When he was challenged by journalists, he said he was not a government contractor. So, what is his source of wealth? Why can’t Tinubu be brave enough to reveal his source of wealth? For starters, this is a man whose name is not even on the CAC registration documents of any of the companies linked to him.“
A legal tussle is in the offing to determine the fate of the June 20 by-election to fill the vacancy in the Enugu North senatorial district at the National Assembly, following the decision of the Labour Party (LP) to challenge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to exclude it from participating.
INEC had approved the participation of only three political parties for the exercise to fill the vacant seat left by Okey Ezea, who died last year, to the exclusion of scores of others including the LP under whose platform the former Senator won the seat in 2023.
Ken Asogwa, spokesman of the party, who gave the update on the next line of action, said LP had already approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, to challenge the decision on the ground of wrongful exclusion, saying that the party was deeply disturbed over INEC’s action, especially the reason it gave for it.
Asogwa, who conveyed the decision through a statement on Monday, wondered how its candidate would made to pay for the ineptitude of INEC itself, which failed to carry out its constitutional responsibility.
Stressing that the party complied with all statutory requirements and procedural guidelines, but was still denied access to upload the particulars of its candidate on INEC’s nomination portal, the statement, added: “Up until the close of the submission window on June 2, the party made several efforts, including formal protests and correspondences to the commission, seeking the resolution of the issue, but these efforts yielded no positive result
“The party fulfilled every legal and administrative obligation required under the Electoral Act and INEC’s extant regulations in the nomination of its candidate. Labour Party finds it difficult to understand the basis upon which it had been excluded from an election in which it had a legitimate and undeniable stake.
“It is both disturbing and deeply concerning that the head of Elections and Party Monitoring (EPM) in Enugu State reportedly justified his refusal to transmit the report of the Labour Party’s primary election on the ground that he was out of town on the day the exercise was conducted.
“This excuse is untenable and raises serious questions about the discharge of official responsibilities. Labour Party cannot be made to suffer the consequences of an official’s absence, negligence, incompetence or dereliction of duty.
“Electoral processes and the constitutional rights of political parties cannot be subjected to the convenience or personal circumstances of individual officers. If the officer was unavailable, it is incumbent upon him or INEC in Enugu to ensure that appropriate arrangements were made for the monitoring and reporting of the exercise.
“INEC should not be penalising a political party that duly complied with all statutory requirements. The Electoral Act only requires political parties to duly notify INEC of their primaries. The party complied fully with this statutory requirement. The legality and validity of the exercise cannot be vitiated by INEC’s absence, as neither the Electoral Act nor the commission’s regulation made its physical presence a mandatory condition for the conduct of a party primary election.”
Expressing confidence in Joash Amupitan, INEC Chairman to do the right thing, he however called on the commission investigate the actions taken by its staff members in Enugu and take decisive action against anyone found culpable.
His words: “Electoral institutions derive their legitimacy from public trust and every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the electoral process. It would amount to a grave injustice for Labour Party to be denied the opportunity of presenting a candidate in an election convened to fill a vacancy created by the death of one of its serving senators.
“Such an outcome would not only undermine the rights of the party and its supporters but it tends to diminish the democratic choices available to the people of Enugu North senatorial district in the coming by-election.
“As the party places its confidence in the impartiality and wisdom of the Nigerian judiciary, it urges all its members and supporters in Enugu North and across the country to remain calm while the matter is being determined by the courts.”
A conciliatory Atiku Abubakar, in magnanimity with victory, extended the olive branch to Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, the pair he defeated on Wednesday night to clinch the ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for next year’s presidential election.
He appealed to both men never to abandon the party ahead of the election, scheduled for January 2027, but to close ranks to ensure victory for both party, Nigeria as a country and the people currently under the bondage of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Extending the olive branch shortly after being handed the party flag, officially declaring him as the candidate, he said: “I therefore appeal to all those who feel aggrieved to come back to our party and close ranks with the rest of us. In particular, I invite Chief Rotimi Anechi and Alhaji Muhammad Hayatu-Deen to join me in this fight to save our democracy and our country.
“As I said previously, there are no winners and no losers. Our people look up to us for leadership and I am ready to lead,” he said.
He added that he would work with other aspirants and stakeholders to build the party ahead of the general election.
“I shall work with you all to continue to build our party. I will campaign with you and if Nigeria’s leaders demand it, govern with you to build a country that works for all of us.”
The appeal is coming hours after both Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State and former Minister of Transportation and Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), rejected the result, even before it was announced, citing what they described as manipulation of the voting process, with Hayatu-Deen saying he would not attend the announcement of the result.
Regardless, Atiku, Nigeria’s former Vice President between 1999 and 2007, said he truly humbled and excited to lead the party into the next elections, adding that he was particularly excited by the party’s demonstration of internal democracy despite the position of naysayers.
Hear him: “I must state at this juncture that this is not the time to celebrate. No one was defeated because we are one party and we all need to recognise the fierce urgency of the moment.
“Therefore, we have to unite, as we pledged before this process, to work to pull our country and our people out of the destructive grip of a corrupt, incompetent and polarising APC government.
“I thank the primary elections Committee for organising peaceful, free, fair and transparent primaries. I thank the various leadership organs of our party, the various stakeholders, and volunteers for their hard work and dedication and all our party members and supporters for their efforts, patience and conduct during the process.
“With the primaries behind us, the real hard work is about to begin. We have to prepare to campaign hard to win the next general elections in order to begin the difficult process of rescuing our country and its long-suffering people from this government.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
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