APC Declares Atiku Abubakar Unfit for Presidency

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council announced that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is unfit to contest for Nigeria's presidency, referencing findings from arbitration proceedings at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. According to a statement signed by APC spokesman Dele Alake on September 18, the ICC Tribunal confirmed that Atiku, while in office, unlawfully signed a contract with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd, represented by Leno Adesanya, for the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

The APC highlighted a $500,000 payment made by Adesanya through an offshore entity to a Citibank account belonging to Atiku's former wife, Jennifer Douglas, in January 2003. This payment is linked to a US Senate investigation and was noted by the ICC Tribunal as suspiciously timed with the contract award.

The APC criticized Atiku for not testifying before the ICC Tribunal, unlike former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and others. The council urged Atiku, now the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 elections, to withdraw from the race, labeling the payment as "just the tip of the iceberg.".