Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has described his principal as a political ally of President Bola Tinubu during the formation of the defunct Action Congress (AC), rather than a beneficiary of the Nigerian leader.
Ibe was reacting to comments attributed to Vice-President Kashim Shettima concerning the circumstances surrounding Atiku’s candidacy in the 2007 presidential election.
In a post on Thursday, he argued that the AC, on whose platform Atiku contested the election, was not Tinubu’s personal property but emerged from a coalition of political interests in 2006.
According to him, the party was formed through an alliance involving Tinubu’s faction of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), the Justice Party and other political groups.
Ibe listed key figures on the AD side to include Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
He said the ACD and breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also contributed prominent figures, including Atiku, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief Tom Ikimi, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba.
Ibe explained that the coalition emerged as an alternative political platform following developments surrounding the third-term agenda during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Citing the autobiography of Akande, a former national chairman of the AC, Ibe said the former governor acknowledged Atiku’s role in the formation of the party.
He quoted Akande as saying, “In 2007, we formed a party, the AC, with Abubakar Atiku.”
According to Ibe, Akande’s account also described an understanding under which Atiku would emerge as the party’s presidential candidate, while Tinubu was considered for the vice-presidential position.
He said the arrangement did not materialise because of concerns over the possibility of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Ibe further argued that Atiku was already vice-president, with an established political structure, before the formation of the AC and had challenged his exclusion from the 2007 presidential election up to the Supreme Court.
Reacting to comparisons between Atiku and political figures such as former United States President Abraham Lincoln and Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, Ibe said repeatedly contesting for public office was within the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
He also defended referring to the President by his first name, Bola, arguing that doing so did not amount to an insult.
According to him, respect for the office of the President should not be confused with worshipping its occupant.
Ibe urged public office holders to concentrate on addressing Nigeria’s pressing challenges, particularly the economy and insecurity, rather than revisiting political alliances formed nearly two decades ago.
He maintained that Atiku and Tinubu were political allies during the formation of the AC and should be regarded as partners in the political arrangement, not as benefactor and beneficiary.
