2027: Presidency using EFCC to crush opposition, Atiku alleges
yarkarkara
By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a weapon to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by Atiku, who was Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007, he alleged that the administration is deploying anti-corruption agencies to harass, intimidate, and dismantle opposition forces, putting the country’s democracy at risk.
Atiku claimed that the recent detention of former Sokoto State Governor and opposition coalition member Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal by the EFCC is part of a wider plan to force opposition leaders into joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He warned that such tactics could push Nigeria towards a one-party state and weaken the fight against corruption.
“The only reason the EFCC has detained Senator Tambuwal is because he is a member of the opposition Coalition. It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition,” Atiku stated.
He argued that the administration has turned the anti-corruption fight into a political weapon, targeting opposition figures while allegedly pardoning those who defect to the ruling party.
“It is as though today, 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 Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” he said.
Atiku expressed concern over what he described as a growing trend of state institutions being misused for political purposes, calling it a danger to Nigeria’s democratic systems.
“We have seen how the EFCC has been used to empty opposition state governors into the ruling party, and the tea party is not about to end anytime soon,” he added.
He also criticised the administration for eroding the independence of institutions like the EFCC, which he said was created to fight corruption without bias.
“Certainly, that is not the objective for which I worked hard during our administration to create the EFCC,” Atiku remarked.
The former Vice President urged civil society groups and the international community to speak out against what he described as the politicisation of anti-corruption efforts.
“While the genuine fight against corruption is a matter that requires the total support of all Nigerians, the objectification of it as a political agenda should be roundly condemned by all in civil society spaces and friends of Nigeria in the international community.
“Our assurance to Nigerians is that we would never succumb to this anti-democratic machination of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship,” he declared.
The post 2027: Presidency using EFCC to crush opposition, Atiku alleges appeared first on Vanguard News.
