Atiku Abubakar's 2003 Intervention Saved Tinubu's Governorship

Phrank Shaibu, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, disclosed that Atiku intervened in 2003 to protect Bola Tinubu's position as Governor of Lagos State from ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. Shaibu stated that Atiku's actions prevented Obasanjo from removing Tinubu amid a political crisis where federal allocations to Lagos were withheld due to the creation of new local council development areas, which Obasanjo deemed unconstitutional.

The Lagos State government challenged this in court, and the Supreme Court ruled the withholding unlawful, yet Obasanjo maintained the freeze. Shaibu emphasized that Atiku's intervention was crucial in preserving Tinubu's second term, as he persuaded Obasanjo to leave Lagos alone during a time when five of the six Alliance for Democracy governors were ousted.

This historical episode is presented as a significant moment in the political landscape of Nigeria's Fourth Republic.