Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dared the Tinubu administration to provide evidence of any wrongdoing against him over the $16bn power allegation.
He reacted to new claims about the power sector, privatisation and public assets in Nigeria, adding the allegations are an attempt to distract Nigerians from a salient question.
Nigerians, he said, deserve to know what happened to the money saved by government after petrol subsidy was removed.
In a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Nigerians should not allow the resurrection of the allegations to distract from the economic hardship currently confronting millions of citizens.
According to him, the $16 billion power-sector allegation, among other claims repeatedly associated with the privatisation and management of public assets, should be subjected to proper investigation if there is credible evidence of wrongdoing.
He said the National Assembly investigated the power projects, but he was never invited to answer any allegation of wrongdoing.
“Yes, I chaired the National Council on Privatisation as Vice President. But on the power project, I disagreed with its concept and did not preside over its implementation. The responsible minister did. The same applies to the Aluminium Smelter matter.
“I have repeatedly asked to be investigated. I left office in 2007 and have spent much of the period since then opposing governments in power. If there is evidence that I stole public money, why has no government produced it before a court?
“It is still not too late. Investigate me. Invite me. Produce the evidence. Prosecute me if you have a case. But propaganda cannot substitute for evidence,” he said.
He hinted that the renewed focus on old allegations had intensified because of his persistent demand for transparency and accountability over the revenues generated by the removal of petrol subsidy.
He said Nigerians were asked to endure unprecedented economic hardship on the assurance that the removal of subsidy would free substantial resources for infrastructure, social investment and economic development.
“They removed subsidy from the poor and promised that the sacrifice would free resources for development. Nigerians accepted extraordinary pain on that promise.
“Today, petrol is more expensive, transportation is more expensive, food is more expensive and the purchasing power of the Nigerian worker has been devastated.
“Meanwhile, government revenues have increased, while fiscal incentives, waivers, tax credits and concessions continue to be available to powerful economic interests.
“So our question remains brutally simple: Where Is The People’s Money?
“You cannot take relief away from the poor, celebrate the resulting revenue and then tell the same impoverished citizens that government intervention on their behalf is economically irresponsible while interventions benefiting powerful interests are called incentives.
“That hypocrisy is precisely what we are challenging,” he said.
He maintained that the scale of the resources generated following subsidy removal makes the issue too important to be dismissed through political accusations or social-media exchanges.
He said Nigerians deserve a clear account of the savings and additional revenues generated since subsidy removal, including how such funds have been allocated, spent or invested.
