By Opeyemi Adelakun
President Bola Tinubu has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of leaving behind unpaid pension liabilities following the privatisation of government-owned enterprises during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
Tinubu made the remarks on Friday while addressing members of the Nigerian Diaspora Medical Association and stakeholders from the North-East, who had endorsed Vice President Kashim Shettima for a second-term nomination.
The President said his administration is focused on restoring economic stability and improving the welfare of Nigerians, arguing that citizens are more interested in stable livelihoods than political promises.
According to him, one of his prospective political opponents supervised the privatisation of public enterprises without settling the pension entitlements of affected workers, leaving subsequent administrations with the burden.
“If I can go political, somebody among my prospective opponents privatised government investments in public entities but forgot to pay the pension. I’m clearing the pensioners now, clearing the mess they created,” Tinubu said.
Atiku served as chairman of the National Council on Privatisation between 1999 and 2007 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, overseeing the sale and liquidation of several government-owned enterprises, including Nigeria Airways and NITEL. The exercise resulted in thousands of workers exiting the organisations, with pension and severance obligations remaining unresolved for years.
Tinubu also reflected on his years in the United States, saying he returned home because he believed his professional experience in accounting and finance would be most valuable in Nigeria.
Speaking on security, the President called for greater unity in tackling terrorism and banditry, particularly in the North-East, stressing that collaboration among leaders and citizens remains essential to overcoming the country’s security challenges.
His comments come amid renewed political exchanges between the Presidency and Atiku’s camp over the President’s decades-old civil forfeiture case in the United States.
Earlier on Friday, Atiku’s Special Adviser on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, challenged the Presidency to publish documentary evidence concerning the matter rather than rely on public statements. The challenge followed claims by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga that Atiku had spent $1.2 million on American lobbyists to revive the 1993 civil forfeiture case against Tinubu.
The Presidency has maintained that the matter was resolved more than three decades ago and insisted that President Tinubu remains focused on governance.
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