14/08/2025
Atiku toš Tinubuš
Atiku condemns detention of Aminu Tambuwal, wā¤rns Tinubu over using EFCC to bullĀ„ and halt agenda of opposition
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prĀ£ssure opposition leaders into joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
On Monday, the EFCC detained former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal over allā¬ged financial misconduct. It also invited former Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha over corruptiān allā¬gatiāns during his short tenure.
Atiku said Tambuwalās detention was because he is part of the coalition planning to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 elections. He claimed the EFCC is now a political tool.
In his statement, Atiku wrote:
āThe only reason the EFCC has detained the former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is because he is a member of the opposition Coalition. It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administrationās agenda to hā¤rrass, intimidā¤te, and decimā¤te the opposition.
The reality unfolding before us today is that the Tinubu administration, as with other aspects, has objectified the fĀæght against cārruptiān as a political tool to cāĀ£rce opposition leaders into the ruling party.
We are living witnesses to a growing trend where the state and its operators have assumed the roles of a bĆ¹llĀ„ by making corruption and the fĀæght against it a political agenda.
Certainly, that is not the objective for which I worked hard during our administration to create the EFCC.
It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom cārruptiān allegations and, it is as though, as soon as they are cāĀ£rced into the political agenda of President Tinubu, their āsinsā are forgiven.
That, definitely, is not how to build institutions. That, certainly, is not how to fĀæght the mānstĀ£r of cārruptiān. Indeed, such tendencies provide the stimulant for cārruptiān to thrive.
We have seen how the EFCC has been used to empty opposition state governors into the ruling party, and the tea party is not about to end anytime soon.
While the genuine fĀæght against cārruptiān is a matter that requires the total support of all Nigerians, the objectification of it as a political agenda should be roundly condemned by all in civil society spaces and friends of Nigeria in the international community.ā
Atiku, however, wā¤rned that opposition leaders would resist any anti-democratic moves to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
