You Are The Liability, Not Buhari — Atiku Tells Tinubu

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of becoming a bigger liability to Nigeria than the challenges he inherited from late former President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to stop blaming his predecessors and account for the trillions of naira committed to the country’s refineries under his administration.

Atiku said Tinubu could no longer hide behind inherited liabilities after more than three years in office, particularly as his administration financed the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries and publicly celebrated their supposed return to operation.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described Tinubu’s continued references to inherited problems as “an extraordinary act of political escapism.”

He cited NNPC financial records showing that the combined obligations of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries to the national oil company rose from approximately ₦4.52 trillion at the end of 2023 to ₦8.67 trillion at the end of 2024.

According to Atiku, the increase of about ₦4.15 trillion in a single year under Tinubu raises serious questions about the management of the refineries and the resources committed to their rehabilitation.

Atiku said Tinubu could not claim credit for the refineries when they appeared to be working and subsequently distance himself from them when problems emerged.

“President Tinubu cannot have it both ways. When the cameras were rolling in November 2024, his government told Nigerians that the Port Harcourt refinery was back. NNPC announced that it was operating at 70 per cent capacity and expressly presented it as an achievement under President Tinubu’s leadership.

“Now that the celebration has turned into embarrassment, the same administration wants Nigerians to believe that the refineries are merely liabilities inherited from previous governments.

“Mr President, you claimed the refinery when you thought it was working. You cannot disown it now that the smoke has cleared,” he said.

The former vice president said the criticism was further reinforced by subsequent admissions from NNPC leadership that the refineries were operating at a “monumental loss.”

“So Nigerians deserve answers. If the combined obligations of these refineries jumped by more than ₦4 trillion in 2024 alone, what exactly did Nigerians receive in return?

“Where did the money go? Where are the products? Where are the savings Nigerians were promised? And where is the refinery your government celebrated before television cameras?” Atiku asked.

He accused the Tinubu administration of taking credit for developments when they appear successful while blaming previous governments when they fail.

“You cannot spend three years claiming credit for everything that appears to work and blaming your predecessors for everything that fails. Leadership does not work that way,” he said.

Atiku further argued that after more than three years in office, Tinubu could no longer rely solely on inherited challenges to explain the country’s problems.

“President Tinubu repeatedly complains about the assets and liabilities he inherited. But after more than three years in office, Nigerians are entitled to examine the liability his own administration has become.

“The real liability today is a government that consumes trillions without delivering results; a government that celebrates projects before they work and searches for predecessors to blame when they collapse,” he said.

Atiku said the refinery controversy was particularly painful because Nigerians continue to pay high prices for petrol despite the enormous public resources committed to restoring domestic refining capacity.

“Think about what ₦4 trillion could do for Nigeria. Think about the universities struggling with overcrowded lecture halls, hospitals without modern equipment, roads that have become death traps and communities without electricity or potable water.

“Yet trillions accumulate around refineries that the government itself now effectively acknowledges have been haemorrhaging public resources.

“This is not merely incompetence. It is an unforgivable failure of stewardship,” he said.

Atiku described the conflicting narratives surrounding the refineries as symbolic of what he called the broader shortcomings of Tinubu’s administration.

“President Tinubu’s scorecard after more than three years is increasingly a story of fire and smoke — enormous expenditure, extravagant announcements and very little Nigerians can hold in their hands.

“Nigeria cannot afford another four years of paying for failure.

“Mr President, stop blaming your predecessors. After more than three years, you are no longer merely managing inherited liabilities. You are creating your own and increasingly, your government itself has become the biggest liability Nigerians are being forced to carry,” he said.