The Presidency has issued a scathing response to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, criticizing his engagement of foreign lobbying firms to petition United States President Donald Trump regarding President Bola Tinubu’s decades-old civil matter while urging the opposition leader to respect Nigeria’s national sovereignty.
In a strongly worded press statement issued on Thursday, July 23, 2026, the Presidency heavily criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his persistent attempts to enlist foreign powers and American lawmakers in domestic political disputes.
Responding to recent reports that Atiku’s U.S. lobbying network had submitted formal petitions to United States President Donald Trump and the U.S. State Department regarding a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Statehouse described the move as an inappropriate attempt to externalize Nigerian politics and undermine the country’s national sovereignty.
The administration emphasized that the civil matter in question was fully litigated and resolved in the United States over thirty years ago, stressing that the Nigerian electorate and the Supreme Court decisively settled all electoral mandates during the 2023 presidential election.
The presidential statement characterized Atiku’s $1.2 million engagement of Washington-based lobbying agents as a self-defeating strategy driven by personal ambition rather than constructive public policy advocacy.
Reminding the public of Atiku’s own international legal history, the Statehouse highlighted his prominent mentions in past U.S. congressional investigations—including a 2010 U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee report chaired by Senator Carl Levin that detailed offshore money transfers—alongside his link to the William Jefferson bribery scandal.
The Presidency further asserted that Atiku’s political maneuvering is aimed at securing foreign validation and diplomatic immunity rather than offering viable solutions to Nigeria’s socioeconomic challenges.
Reaffirming President Tinubu’s commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda, the Statehouse declared that the administration remains entirely unfazed by political theatrics in Washington and will stay focused on economic stabilization, foreign investment, and national security.
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