Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to address grievances surrounding convicted separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu and explain the continued detention of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and cleric Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the call on Thursday in Abuja in an Independence Day address.
“On this day, I call for the rule of law to be applied fairly in every case. The continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai raises questions about due process that the authorities must answer,” he said.
On Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who was convicted on charges related to terrorism, Atiku said: “Following Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s conviction, his right to lawful appeal must be respected, while the grievances and divisions surrounding his case must be addressed seriously.”
Public affairs analyst Joseph Okolie said Atiku’s call was a political strategy to curry favour in the southeast and win support in El-Rufai’s stronghold. He added that Tinubu’s ebbing popularity on account of his reforms provides a window for the opposition.
Atiku also called for the release of five youths arrested in Borno State for wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts.
“A political slogan on a shirt must never become a reason to imprison a Nigerian,” he said.
Marking Nigeria’s 66th independence anniversary, Atiku said the country had departed from the vision of its founders, adding that hardship had worsened under the Tinubu administration.
“The past three years under Bola Tinubu have plunged Nigeria into the most severe cost of living crisis in our history. Families are not merely tightening their belts. They are skipping meals, delaying treatment and borrowing to survive until payday,” he said.
He challenged Tinubu’s Independence Day declaration that “emergency treatment is over” and that an “age of prosperity” had begun.
“A president may announce a new chapter in a speech. He cannot put food onto a family’s table or money into a worker’s pocket,” Atiku said.
The ADC candidate criticised the extension of the 2025 budget to Dec. 31, 2026.
“You have just signed an extension keeping the 2025 budget in operation until the last day of 2026. The 2026 budget exists alongside it. Soon, your government will ask Nigerians to examine a 2027 budget,” he said.
“How many budgets must be open at once before you can tell the country what was funded, what was completed and what remains unpaid? A budget should be a timetable for delivery, not a ball passed from one year to the next.”
He also questioned cash transfers cited by All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, who said more than 10 million Nigerians had received 75,000 naira each, amounting to at least 750 billion naira. Yilwatda has said many beneficiaries do not have phones.
“So how did your government identify, contact and pay them, particularly in parts of Yobe and Borno where insecurity makes access difficult? Did officials deliver the money by hand? If so, who delivered it, and where are the receipts? If it went into bank accounts, show the transaction records,” Atiku said.
On the cost of living, he said the purchasing power of the minimum wage had fallen despite a nominal increase.
“In April 2023, a 30,000 naira minimum wage could buy about 118 litres of petrol. Today, a 70,000 naira minimum wage buys just 50 litres,” he said.
He said the average price of an egg rose to 261 naira in May 2026 from about 88 naira in April 2023, while a loaf of bread that cost about 500 naira in April 2023 now averages about 2,000 naira for a smaller loaf.
“If 2023 was the illness, why does your ‘cure’ buy less fuel, fewer eggs and a smaller loaf of bread?” he asked.
Atiku said Tinubu “removed the fuel subsidy with one announcement and no credible protection in place for the families who would bear the shock.”
He said if elected, he would introduce “a capped, budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria, including fuel from modular refineries.”
“Imported petrol will not qualify. The benefit must reach consumers through lower pump prices. We will publish the costs, independently audit the payments and cut government waste to help fund the programme,” he said.
He also questioned Tinubu’s pledge to lower transport fares from Oct. 1.
“Before I forget, you promised Nigerians lower transport fares from October 1. Today is October 1. Did your promise miss the bus?” he asked.
On public debt, Atiku said Nigeria’s debt stood at 166.79 trillion naira at the end of June, with the government now discussing another $1.5 billion in World Bank loans.
“Before you borrow another dollar in the people’s name, tell them what the money already borrowed has delivered,” he said.
He alleged that Hitech Construction, a unit of Chagoury Group, was awarded the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract without open competitive bidding. The government has said it used restricted bidding.
“Then publish the invitations, the bids, the evaluations, the final contract and every variation. Let Nigerians see how this enormous award was decided,” Atiku said.
He said local contractors who had completed government projects remained unpaid, and that military pensioners and federal workers had complained of unpaid entitlements and delayed salaries.
“Pay the outstanding entitlements, publish what remains unpaid, and stop claiming that everyone has been paid in full,” he said.
On security, Atiku said: “A government that cannot make life affordable and cannot protect life has failed the two tests that matter most to its people.”
He cited a stampede at the Niger State Government House that killed three people during a reported distribution of 10,000 naira, calling for a full account of how the gathering was organised.
Atiku said if elected in 2027, he would respect the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), support prompt publication of results from polling units, and ensure prosecution of vote-buying and result manipulation.
“Your vote must count as you cast it. You should not need powerful friends to make it count,” he said.
“We have chosen a different course, peacefully and together, through the power of our votes; the message is clear: Tinubu must go.”
The presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.