The All Progressives Congress (APC) has berated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over an allegation claiming that President Bola Tinubu’s administration paid ₦50 million bribe to buy out opposition parties ahead of the 2027 election.
News360 Info reports that Atiku made the allegation while speaking as a panellist at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.
“I want to make this public. I met with leaders of a political party in the opposition, and they openly admitted that this government gives them N50m each,” Atiku asserted.
Reacting to the allegation in an interview with Punch, the National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, expressed disappointment in Atiku, saying an elder statesman like him should not been seen making flippant allegations.
He challenged the former presidential candidate to provide proof to back his allegation.
According to him, “From what I know of the law, the presumption is that you are innocent until proven otherwise. Until Atiku Abubakar is able to substantiate and prove this allegation of bribery, his submission does not have any ground for recognition. So he needs to go beyond making allegations.
“He has to come up with facts and proof on who gave the money, to whom it was given, where and for what purpose. Unless that is done, everything he said stands in the realm of allegations and they will be flimsy allegations until he is able to substantiate and prove those. These are people that are held in esteem by the society.”
