Atiku also warned that such actions undermine institutional integrity and encourage corruption.
By Kehinde Okeowo
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has claimed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) picked up former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to pressure him into joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He made the allegation on Tuesday via a statement he shared on his official X page.
According to the former Vice President, the detention was part of a strategy by the Tinubu-led administration to harass and weaken the opposition.
He further alleged that the arrest is
“politically motivated”, adding that once politicians decamp to APC, the charges against them are dropped.
“It is as though anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations, and as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President Bola Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven.
“That, definitely, is not how to build institutions. That, certainly, is not how to fight the monster of corruption. Indeed, such tendencies provide the stimulant for corruption to thrive,” he said.
Atiku went on to say he was instrumental in the creation of the EFCC during his tenure, condemning what he described as the agency’s use for partisan purposes.
He warned that such actions undermine institutional integrity and encourage corruption.
He added that the deployment of the anti-corruption agency to pressure opposition leaders could lead to a “one-party dictatorship.”
Atiku further urged Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the international community to condemn the politicization of the anti-graft fight.
