Atiku Abubakar, the two-time presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has explained the reason behind the detention of former Governor Aminu Tambuwal by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a statement issued on his social media platform, the former vice president said Tambuwal is being held by the EFCC because he is a member of the opposition coalition.
EFCC had arrested and detained Tambuwal over his alleged involvement in N189 billion fraud.
In his statement, Atiku said Tambuwal’s detention is a continuation of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition.
According to Atiku, evidence is on the ground to show the president All Progressives Congress (APC) government has successfully objectified the fight against corruption.
He said that the EFCC is being used by the government as a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party.
“We are living witnesses to a growing trend where the state and its operators have assumed the roles of a bully by making corruption and the fight against it a political agenda.
“Certainly, that is not the objective for which I worked hard during our administration to create the EFCC. It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations and, it is as though, as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” Atiju wrote on X.
Further warning that nations and institutions are not built in such a manner, the former president said corruption cannot be fought with such tendencies that provide the stimulant for it to thrive.
“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.
“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.
“We have in recent times witnessed the use of anti-corruption agencies in coercing political leaders into the ruling party. Our assurance to Nigerians is that we would never succumb to these anti-democratic machinations of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship,” Atiku added.
