The National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Dantalle, has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to either publicly disclose the names of opposition leaders allegedly receiving ₦50 million from the Bola Tinubu-led administration or offer an immediate apology.
Dantalle’s statement came in direct response to Atiku’s recent allegations that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been providing financial incentives to opposition leaders in order to weaken their political positions.
According to reports, Atiku made these claims during a national conference aimed at strengthening democracy in Nigeria, held on Monday in Abuja. Atiku alleged that the APC had been paying ₦50 million to each opposition party to undermine the country’s democratic process. This controversial statement has since ignited widespread debate, with opposition figures vehemently denying the allegations.
In a television interview on Politics Today, which aired on Channels Television on Friday, Dantalle rejected Atiku’s accusations. He emphasized that, to his knowledge, no opposition leader has received any such payments from the APC.
Dantalle further argued that such serious accusations only serve to create unnecessary suspicion and division within the opposition. He asserted that no national chairman or opposition leader has received any such funds and challenged Atiku to provide solid evidence to substantiate his claims.
He advised Atiku to be cautious in making public statements, warning that such allegations can unnecessarily escalate political tensions. Dantalle explained that while Atiku may have access to certain information, it was irresponsible to claim that all members of the opposition were involved in accepting ₦50 million. He emphasized that, based on his position and his involvement with the Inter-Party Advisory Council and the Allied People’s Movement party, he had not encountered any evidence of such payments.
Dantalle also suggested that, if Atiku was aware of specific individuals involved in such actions, he should name them to clarify the matter. He expressed frustration at the accusations, noting that they have fostered an atmosphere of distrust among opposition members. Dantalle stated that the best course of action would be for Atiku to either apologize publicly to opposition leaders or provide a clear list of those allegedly involved in the bribery.
“You have succeeded in creating mutual suspicion. So what I think Atiku Abubakar should do, with all due respect, is to either apologize publicly to opposition leaders in totality, the same way he made this allegation, or he identify and mention opposition leaders who are involved in this rubbish,” Dantalle stated. “But for us in the Inter-Party Advisory Council, we are not aware of what Atiku is insinuating. Sincerely. Everything and anything is possible in politics. But what I’m saying, I’m restricting this to the Inter-Party Advisory Council, that’s the 19 registered political parties that I know today, there is no such sign that anybody has collected ₦50 million,” he added.
Dantalle suggested that Atiku may have been misled by individuals within the opposition seeking personal financial gains, who may have falsely claimed that the APC was bribing opposition leaders. He speculated that some individuals could have approached Atiku with such falsehoods, hoping to secure financial support from him.
“I’ve been speaking with the leaders of all the other opposition parties. I’ve spoken to the national chairman of SDP, I’ve spoken to the national chairman of YPP, I’ve spoken to national chairman of PRP, national chairman of AA, national chairman of NRM and everybody seemed to be angry,” Dantalle stated. “It came to a point when I was not talking and it seemed as if I was involved in some of these things. It is embarrassing. And sincerely, we need an apology from the former Vice President or he should come out to identify and mention the people involved.”
Dantalle also suggested that Atiku’s comments were damaging not only to the reputation of opposition parties but to his own standing within the political community. He expressed that the situation could escalate unnecessarily and cautioned Atiku, as a respected elder statesman and leader, against making inflammatory remarks without substantial evidence.
“In this situation, he claimed that ‘some opposition leaders,’ it is possible that some persons want to get money from Atiku and they went to him and say ‘okay, this is what this person is giving us, so you can give us something like that’,” Dantalle reasoned. “It will be fair to all of us in the opposition family that you mention or identify the people who are involved in this, because I don’t know who is giving such money, and I don’t know who is collecting it.”
“I’m saying this between me and God. This is capable of hitting up the polity unnecessarily. So as an elder statesman and as a leader, you are not supposed to make this kind of utterance, because you are hitting up the polity unnecessarily. He will be helping us if he identifies these persons, even if he doesn’t want to mention directly, he can use a proxy to mention the people involved, or the parties or the leaders involved in this thing,” Dantalle concluded.
Similarly, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had previously issued a challenge to Atiku to provide any concrete evidence backing his claims that the APC was bribing opposition parties with ₦50 million.