By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed allegations made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, describing them as baseless claims motivated by disappointment over the outcome of the party’s presidential primary election.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused Lawal of engaging in political revisionism and making serious allegations without presenting any evidence to support his claims.
While reacting to the barrage of allegations made by Lawal during a recent television interview in which he questioned the credibility of the ADC presidential primary and alleged irregularities in the process that produced Atiku as the party’s flag bearer, Atiku said that Nigerians who watched the interview were presented with “a man armed with outrage but bereft of evidence,” insisting that Lawal failed to provide any documentary or verifiable proof to substantiate his allegations.
“Mr. Lawal spent nearly an hour making grave accusations about the conduct of the ADC presidential primary, yet failed to produce a single piece of verifiable evidence. No document, no petition, no result sheet, no witness statement, no recording—nothing,” the statement said.
The Atiku camp argued that the allegations were based largely on speculation, anonymous sources and unverified claims rather than concrete facts.
“By the time the interview ended, the only thing in abundance was speculation. What was presented as a serious political intervention ultimately collapsed into an exercise in conjecture and unsubstantiated claims,” Shaibu stated.
The former vice president’s spokesman further alleged that Lawal’s criticisms stemmed from his support for another aspirant during the party’s primary election.
According to him, Lawal had openly campaigned for a rival candidate and was now struggling to accept the outcome after his preferred aspirant failed to secure the nomination.
“What the interview ultimately revealed was not a whistleblower exposing wrongdoing but a disappointed political actor struggling to come to terms with the failure of his preferred candidate,” he said.
Shaibu also faulted Lawal’s claims that Atiku manipulated the primary process, describing the allegations as contradictory.
He argued that it was illogical to portray Atiku as politically weak and irrelevant while simultaneously accusing him of orchestrating a nationwide conspiracy capable of influencing delegates across thousands of wards in the country.
“According to his own account, Atiku was inactive, unpopular and absent from the field. Yet Nigerians are simultaneously expected to believe that this same supposedly dormant politician somehow orchestrated a nationwide conspiracy across 8,809 wards,” he said.
The statement described such claims as implausible and disrespectful to party members who participated in the democratic process.
Shaibu also referenced comments allegedly made by Lawal during the interview regarding his relationship with President Bola Tinubu, saying Nigerians could draw their own conclusions from the former SGF’s remarks.
“More revealing, however, was Mr. Lawal’s astonishing confession on national television that if he ever needed money, all he had to do was call President Tinubu and the money would reach him before he got home,” the statement added.
The Atiku camp further accused Lawal of attempting to damage the former vice president’s reputation among Christian communities in the Middle Belt and other regions where he enjoys political support.
According to Shaibu, Lawal’s continued criticism appeared aimed at undermining Atiku’s standing ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He also condemned what he described as personal attacks directed at Atiku during the interview, arguing that such tactics reflected an inability to defend allegations with facts.
“History teaches us that insults are often the last refuge of those who have run out of arguments,” he said.
Defending Atiku’s political legacy, Shaibu highlighted the former vice president’s contributions to economic reforms, telecommunications liberalisation, private sector development and education, dismissing Lawal’s assertion that Atiku had “absolutely nothing” to show for his public service career.
“Nigerians know Atiku Abubakar’s record. They know his role in the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, his contributions to economic reforms, private sector development, education and national growth,” he stated.
The statement concluded by maintaining that Lawal had failed to substantiate his allegations and that the facts surrounding the ADC primary remained unchanged.
“As far as we are concerned, this is the final response to Mr. Lawal’s increasingly desperate attempts to remain politically relevant through sensationalism and character assassination. Nigerians have heard him, Nigerians have seen him, and Nigerians have judged for themselves,” Shaibu said.
