Atiku Names Kashim Ibrahim-Imam Campaign Chair, El-rufai eputy, Akobundu DG and Momodu Director Media, Communications 

In another development, Atiku has named and approved his presidential campaign council with Kashim Ibrahim-Imam as presidential campaign chairman.

Atiku also named a former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nadir El-rufai to serve as his deputy.

Former National Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who is a serving senator, Austin Akunbundu was named the campaign Director General.

In a statement by his senior special assistant on Media and public entertainment and Director Strategic communications, Phrank Shauib, announced the composition of a lean and strategically structured  National Campaign Council and Presidential Campaign Management Committee.

He said the size and character of the council deliberately reflected the mood of the nation and the severe economic realities confronting millions of Nigerians.

According to Atiku, ”At a time when families were being compelled to do more with less, the campaign must demonstrate the same discipline, prudence and sensitivity it seeks to bring to government.

”This will not be a bloated campaign built around titles, privileges and political patronage. It will operate as a people-driven organisation anchored on competence, accountability, national inclusion, clearly defined responsibilities and measurable results.

”The National Campaign Council will be chaired by Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, an experienced political organiser and administrator with decades of involvement in national politics.

”Serving as Deputy Chairman is Nasir El-Rufai, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Governor of Kaduna State. 

“El-Rufai brings extensive experience in public administration, political organisation and executive governance to the leadership of the Council. His role will include high-level political coordination and engagement with critical stakeholders across the country.

”The day-to-day management and coordination of the campaign will be led by the Director-General and Campaign Manager, Senator Austin Akobundu.

”A serving Senator representing Abia Central, retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army and former Minister of State for Defence, Akobundu brings together military discipline, administrative experience, legislative exposure and years of political organisation,” Atiku stated.

According to the former vice president, ”As Director-General, he will sit at the operational centre of the campaign, with responsibility for translating strategy into action, coordinating the various arms of the campaign and ensuring discipline, cohesion and accountability across its national structure.

”For effective coordination, the campaign has been organised into six major operational directorates, each headed by a Deputy Director-General.

”Working across these directorates are 30 Directors, each assigned clearly defined responsibilities. The structure has been deliberately kept lean to prevent duplication, reduce bureaucracy and ensure that every office has a specific function and every appointee is accountable for results.

”The Media and Communications Directorate will be headed by veteran journalist and publisher Dele Momodu as Deputy Director-General. He will coordinate the campaign’s media and communications operations across traditional, broadcast and digital platforms.

”Also playing a key role in the campaign structure is Dino Melaye, whose political experience and public engagement will form part of the wider effort to strengthen the campaign’s national outreach, mobilisation and public interface. 

”The campaign’s policy architecture will be coordinated by Mohammed Hayatudeen, an economist, banker and public policy practitioner who heads the Policy Team. 

“He will work with Professor Mohammed Sagagi as Deputy Chairman and Aare Aremijoye as Secretary to translate the concerns and aspirations of Nigerians into practical and measurable policy proposals.

”The campaign also draws on the experience of Professor Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, economist, scholar and public policy expert.

“His experience in monetary policy, financial-sector governance, international affairs and economic development strengthens the policy capacity available to the campaign.

”The Campaign Advisory Council will be chaired by John Oyegun, former Governor of Edo State and pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, with former Senator Ben Obi and Lawal Batagarawa serving as Deputy Chairmen and Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, as Secretary.

”The philosophy underlying the campaign structure is straightforward: fewer offices, clearer responsibilities and greater accountability.

”There are six operational directorates headed by Deputy Directors-General and 30 Directors responsible for defined areas of campaign activity. The Director-General will coordinate their execution, while the Chairman and Deputy Chairman provide political leadership and strategic coordination.”

He further said there would be no room for ornamental appointments.

”Every directorate has a responsibility. Every director has an assignment. And every level of the campaign structure will be expected to account for results.

”Beyond political organisation, the campaign will focus on the issues confronting Nigerians in their daily lives: the cost of food, transportation and energy; unemployment; insecurity; declining purchasing power; and the wider challenge of effective governance.

”This campaign belongs to the Nigerian people. Its strength will not be measured by the number of titles it distributes, but by the effectiveness of its organisation, the clarity of its policies and the seriousness with which it engages the concerns of Nigerians,” he said.

APC: 2027 is an Opportunity to Prevent Nigeria from Atiku’s Ravenous Plunder

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the 2027 presidential election presents the electorate the opportunity to deal a final blow to Atiku’s desperate quest for presidential power, and save the country from his ravenous plunder.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, in a statement stressed that the media and public discourse had been awash with damning reports of Atiku’s alleged dealings in local and international bribery and corruption schemes.

He added: “Ghosts of his sordid past continue, restlessly, to haunt and warn that Atiku must never again be allowed anywhere close to such a commanding position of trust and responsibility as the presidency.

“As a former public official, Atiku’s record is an executive summary of some of Nigeria’s vilest episodes of corruption and cronyism that pulverised our economy and decimated public trust.

“Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election presents the electorate the opportunity to deal a final blow to Atiku’s desperate quest for presidential power, and save the country from his ravenous plunder.

“From the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Siemens bribery scandal to the William Jefferson case, the PTDF funds controversy, and the US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions, Atiku’s name is engraved ingloriously on files and dossiers of onshore and offshore financial scandals and atrocities.”

Morka stressed that these were not mere allegations, but matters that were well documented in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations, national and foreign legislative reports, and international financial inquiries. 

Together, he said, they raised legitimate questions about the fitness for probity and accountability of this serial presidential contender.

Morka emphasised that the latest controversy surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project is particularly troubling. 

He recalled that an International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Tribunal in Paris examined a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s wife at the time, through an offshore company. 

He said the payment occurred around the period when the Mambilla contract was awarded with Atiku as Vice President, adding that Atiku declined an opportunity to explain and justify what clearly was an illegal bribe payment to his wife.

He recalled that there was the Siemens bribery scandal in which US authorities alleged that Siemens paid at least $4.5 million in bribes to secure Nigerian telecommunications contracts during the Obasanjo administration, with approximately $2.8 million reportedly passing through a bank account owned by Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s ex-wife. 

Morka noted that Siemens subsequently agreed to pay approximately $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over global bribery violations, saying again, Atiku’s soiled fingerprints were in focus.

He explained further that there was the William Jefferson bribery case with Atiku and his close associates falling under the scrutiny of American investigators. 

Morka stressed that US court records indicated that former Congressman William Jefferson disclosed paying Atiku $100,000 to influence a proposed business partnership involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television. 

He said Jefferson was eventually convicted and sentenced to prison, saying, “Again, Atiku’s dark web of corrupt influence peddling and abuse of office on display.”

The spokesperson added that 2010 report of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that linked Atiku and his ex-wife, Jennifer Douglas, to more than $40 million in suspicious funds transferred into the United States through offshore companies and lodged in over 30 shadowy bank accounts associated Douglas and her family, again told a sordid tale of a man that could not be trusted with the nation’s treasury.

“Atiku’s sudden u-turn from his 2023 policy position in favour of fuel subsidy removal to his new promise to restore the fuel subsidy regime, if elected, must be understood as his latest device to lay his hands on, and squander.

“The country’s 18-year foreign reserve high of over $54 billion built up from $3 billion by President Bola Tinubu in less than four years through bold and prudent economic reforms. 

“The National Treasury that President Tinubu has built strong is what Atiku desires to scatter and plunder under the cover of his fake and unrealistic promise to restore the subsidy regime.”