President Bola Tinubu and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have clashed over the source of funds used to build the American University of Nigeria, formerly known as ABTI.
Tinubu, speaking at a presidential campaign rally in Ikwerre, Rivers State on Saturday, challenged Atiku to explain how he built a university while serving as Vice President in charge of Nigeria’s economy.
Atiku fired back hours later, insisting his investment in education predated his time in public service, and accused Tinubu of trying to distract Nigerians from the failures of his administration.
Tinubu: ‘Ask Atiku How He Built University In Office’
Addressing supporters in Rivers, Tinubu blamed Atiku and others for the hunger in the country, saying they created the mess they now complain about.
“To every salary earner, there is a dependent and somebody sharing the food at home, those people talking of hunger are talking about the mess they created. Atiku was one of them, ask him how he built a university while in office as Vice President in charge of our economy,” Tinubu said.
“Who built the university for him, it’s your money, it’s your effort. A man without moral integrity, latitude and ethics for the office.”
Tinubu also described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a development partner of his administration.
“Today I have many of you, Rivers people in government working so hard, particularly Wike. Wike is already a development partner of Tinubu’s administration. He is doing a wonderful job, committed, very hardworking, a man with vision and combines that with mission,” he said.
Atiku: ‘My Investment Predates Public Service’
In a swift response, Atiku, through his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said Tinubu had again shown Nigerians why he should not be allowed to continue after his first tenure.
“Again, Bola Tinubu has told Nigerians why they should not allow him to continue as president after his first tenure. He also chose to question my investment in education and ask how I built an educational institution while serving as Vice President,” Shaibu said.
“The answer is simple: my investment in education predates my time in public service. In 1993, while a U.S. court ordered the forfeiture of funds in an account in your name, describing them as proceeds of narcotics trafficking or funds involved in unlawful financial transactions, I was laying the foundation for ABTI Academy. That Academy has since grown into the American University of Nigeria.”
Atiku said that moment captures the difference between them.
“My history is traceable. I can show Nigerians how I built my name, achieved success in business and entered public leadership. Your own history remains clumsy and foggy. You cannot erase it by attacking my record in education.”
Atiku also accused Tinubu of plunging the country into a crushing cost-of-living crisis, saying he has no business asking Nigerians for another mandate.
“A president who has plunged the country into a crushing cost-of-living crisis has no business asking Nigerians for another mandate. The real conversation about the 2027 election is how to repair the damage your government has done,” he said.
“You say Nigeria cannot return to subsidy and must move forward. But you cannot even tell Nigerians where you are taking them. Forward into deeper poverty, mounting debt, insecurity and mass unemployment?”
“Since your inauguration in 2023, your leadership has become synonymous with hardship, pain and despair. Your record is a working example of how a country should not be led. You have created poverty on an industrial scale, pushing more than 79 million Nigerians into extreme poverty.”
The exchange sets up a fresh war of words between the two leading contenders ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
