New Rift Erupts Between Tinubu and Atiku as Nigeria's 2027 Election Battle Lines Harden

A fresh political storm has broken out between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as the two political heavyweights trade accusations barely a year out from Nigeria's 2027 general election. At the centre of the row is a claim by the Presidency that Atiku, now the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), engaged a Washington-based lobbying firm to petition US President Donald Trump, the US State Department and members of Congress over a decades-old civil forfeiture case involving Tinubu.

The Presidency Fires the First Shot
The dispute became public on Thursday, when the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued a scathing statement titled "When Will Atiku Abubakar Report Himself To President Trump?" Onanuga accused Atiku of hiring a $1.2 million lobbying operation to revive a 1993 civil forfeiture matter a case he described as long settled in the United States, with no criminal conviction or finding of guilt ever entered against Tinubu.

The presidential spokesman argued that Atiku's persistence in pursuing the presidency had eroded the "statesmanship, decorum and propriety" expected of a political elder, and framed the lobbying effort as an attempt to internationalize a domestic political contest at the expense of Nigeria's sovereignty and international standing. While acknowledging that lobbying is a normal part of American politics, Onanuga insisted that hiring foreign agents to discredit a sitting Nigerian president crossed a line calling it, in effect, an attempt to relitigate history for personal political gain.

Atiku Pushes Back
Atiku's camp responded swiftly. In a statement issued through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president accused the Presidency of substituting insults for substantive answers to the questions he had raised about Tinubu's past. His camp argued that resorting to personal attacks rather than addressing the underlying facts amounted to a tacit admission that the government lacked convincing responses.

The exchange traces back to reports that a Washington-based lobbying firm retained by Atiku had begun sharing documents related to the long-running US forfeiture case with officials in the Trump administration, congressional members and congressional staff an escalation that transformed what had been a familiar domestic sparring match into a matter with international dimensions.

Civil Society Wades In
The controversy has not been confined to the two camps. Working People United (WoPU), a coalition describing itself as representing organized labour, professionals, artisans and traders across Nigeria's economy, also criticized the lobbying push, calling it "political desperation" and reiterating that no US court has ever found Tinubu guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering or related offences in connection with the case.

A Preview of the 2027 Contest
The clash arrives against the backdrop of intensifying positioning for Nigeria's 2027 presidential election, in which Atiku a fixture of Nigerian presidential politics for more than three decades is expected to mount another bid, this time under the ADC banner, against an incumbent Tinubu seeking a second term. Both camps have shown willingness in recent months to trade sharp personal barbs, including previous ADC criticism of the administration's spending priorities, such as funding for the construction of monarchical palaces.

The latest flashpoint suggests that as the election approaches, Nigeria's political discourse is likely to grow more combative, with old, previously settled controversies from Tinubu's past being pulled back into the national conversation and the Presidency showing little hesitation in responding in kind. Whether the reported lobbying effort gains genuine traction in Washington, or whether it becomes primarily a tool of domestic messaging in the run-up to 2027, remains to be seen but it has already succeeded in setting an early, acrimonious tone for what promises to be a fiercely contested election cycle.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.

International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP

[email protected]
+233-555-275-880
Sources / References
The Whistler, "Reporting Tinubu To Trump Undermines Nigeria's Dignity, Presidency Warns Atiku" https://thewhistler.ng/reporting-tinubu-to-trump-undermines-nigerias-dignity-presidency-warns-atiku/

P.M. News, "'When will Atiku report himself to Trump?' Presidency fires back" https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2026/07/23/when-will-atiku-report-himself-to-trump-presidency-fires-back/

Vanguard News, "Presidency tackles Atiku for reporting Tinubu to Trump, US Congress" https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/07/presidency-tackles-atiku-for-reporting-tinubu-to-trump-us-congress/

The Nation, "Presidency slams Atiku over US lobbying, says ex-VP should 'report himself to Trump'" https://thenationonlineng.net/presidency-slams-atiku-over-us-lobbying-says-ex-vp-should-report-himself-to-trump/

Igbere TV, "Onanuga Tackles Atiku For Reporting Tinubu To Trump, US Congress" https://igberetvnews.com/1496889/onanuga-tackles-atiku-reporting-tinubu-trump-us-congress

Punch Nigeria, "Insults can't replace transparency over Tinubu records, Atiku tells presidency" https://punchng.com/insults-cant-replace-transparency-over-tinubu-records-atiku-tells-presidency/

Champion Newspapers, "WoPU decries Atiku's forfeiture records submission to Trump, US Congress" https://championnews.com.ng/2026/07/24/wopu-decries-atikus-forfeiture-records-submission-to-trump-us-congress/