Tinubu didn’t donate AC to Atiku, it was a 2006 coalition — Ibe

Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has firmly rejected claims that President Bola Tinubu simply “donated” the Action Congress (AC) platform to Atiku for the 2007 presidential election, describing the narrative as a distortion of political history.
In a statement released on Friday via his X handle, Ibe responded to comments by Arise News anchor Rufai Oseni on The Morning Show. He insisted the AC emerged from a broader realignment of political forces rather than any personal gift from the then Lagos State governor.

“There has been considerable misinformation about how the Action Congress (AC) emerged, particularly the claim that then Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu simply ‘donated his party’ to then Vice President Atiku Abubakar to contest the 2007 presidential election. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Ibe said.

According to him, the party was formed in 2006 amid opposition to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term ambition. It brought together the Tinubu-led faction of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD)—largely made up of PDP breakaways and associates of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM)—the Justice Party, and smaller groups.

Prominent figures on the AD side included Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and Chief Adebayo Adefarati. On the ACD/PDP breakaway side were Atiku, Audu Ogbeh, Lawal Kaita, Bashir Dalhatu and Gali Na’Abba, among others.
Ibe cited Akande’s autobiography, in which the former AC national chairman wrote: “In 2007, we formed a party, the AC with Abubakar Atiku.” He also referenced accounts by former AC national chairman Chief Tom Ikimi describing the party as a coalition rather than Tinubu’s personal property.

Reducing the relationship to a simple benefactor-beneficiary dynamic, Ibe argued, ignores the mutual exchanges of political support. He noted that Atiku had publicly stood by Tinubu during the 2003 elections when the PDP-led federal government under Obasanjo sought to dislodge the AD from the South-West. Lagos survived that onslaught, Ibe said, partly because of Atiku’s decision to prioritise their longstanding ties, which dated back to the PDM era.

“So the history is not one of Tinubu simply giving Atiku a political platform and receiving nothing in return. Atiku and Tinubu were political partners who exchanged political favours at different points. The AC itself was the product of a broader coalition and realignment—not Tinubu’s personal property donated to Atiku,” he stated.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ibe further dismissed suggestions that Atiku never reciprocated Tinubu’s support. He recalled that an early understanding had contemplated Tinubu as Atiku’s running mate. That arrangement did not materialise because Atiku was not inclined towards a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Atiku eventually ran with Senator Ben Obi.
Historical records and independent accounts align with key elements of Ibe’s clarification. The Action Congress (later Action Congress of Nigeria) was formally established in September 2006 through the merger of a faction of the AD, the ACD, the Justice Party and other minor parties, primarily as a vehicle to challenge the dominant PDP. Atiku, who had fallen out with Obasanjo, emerged as the party’s presidential candidate at a Lagos convention attended by thousands of delegates. Wikipedia and contemporary reports confirm the coalition character of the platform rather than exclusive ownership by any single figure.

The episode forms part of a longer, complex political relationship between Atiku and Tinubu that has featured both cooperation and rupture. The two men, once allies, are again positioned as potential rivals ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Atiku flying the African Democratic Congress (ADC) flag and Tinubu seeking re-election on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform.

Ibe’s intervention underscores ongoing efforts by Atiku’s camp to correct what it sees as selective or incomplete retellings of early Fourth Republic politics, particularly those that frame the 2007 contest solely through the lens of Tinubu’s generosity.