‘My History Is Traceable, Yours Is Foggy’: Atiku Tells Tinubu He Built ABTI In 1993 While Tinubu Forfeited $460,000

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has replied to President Bola Tinubu’s criticism of his investment in education, stating that he laid the foundation for ABTI Academy in 1993, years before he became Vice President, and challenging the President’s record.

The reply was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, ValidViewNetwork reports .

THE RESPONSE

Atiku was responding to Tinubu’s remarks at the APC presidential campaign rally in Port Harcourt on Saturday, where the President questioned how Atiku established a university while serving as Vice President and overseeing the economy.

“The answer is simple: my investment in education predates my time in public service,” Atiku said. “In 1993, while a U.S. court ordered the forfeiture of funds in an account in your name, describing them as proceeds of narcotics trafficking or funds involved in unlawful financial transactions, I was laying the foundation for ABTI Academy. That Academy has since grown into the American University of Nigeria”.

He added: “That moment captures the difference between us. My history is traceable. I can show Nigerians how I built my name, achieved business success and entered public leadership. Your own history remains clumsy and foggy. You cannot erase it by attacking my educational record” .

THE BROADER ATTACK

Atiku did not limit his response to the education dispute. He accused Tinubu of plunging Nigeria into a cost-of-living crisis, creating poverty on an industrial scale, and pushing more than 79 million Nigerians into extreme poverty.

“A president who has plunged the country into a crushing cost-of-living crisis has no business asking Nigerians for another mandate,” he said. “The real conversation about the 2027 election is how to repair the damage your government has done”

Atiku also criticised the campaign’s Director-General, referring to Yari’s comment that hungry Nigerians are lazy. “Your campaign’s Director-General says hungry Nigerians are simply lazy. He delivered that statement in grammar so badly constructed it could wake the dead. This government does not even believe Nigerians are hungry. How can you solve a problem you refuse to acknowledge?” he asked .

WHY IT MATTERS

The exchange between Atiku and Tinubu is a sign of how personal the 2027 campaign has become.Tinubu questioned Atiku’s educational legacy.

Atiku responded by questioning Tinubu’s past, invoking the $460,000 forfeiture case that has followed the President for decades.

For Atiku, the response is a way to frame the election as a choice between a candidate with a traceable history and one with a foggy one.

For Tinubu, the attack on Atiku’s university was intended to raise questions about public funds.

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Instead, it has opened a broader conversation about both men’s records. The campaign continues. The personal attacks have begun. And the voters will decide whose history they believe. ValidViewNetwork reports.