Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says certain aspects of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), life are shrouded in secrecy.
Speaking while addressing North-West Muslim leaders in Kano on Tuesday, Tinubu said Atiku is a liar who cannot explain the source of his wealth.
He asserted that Mr Abubakar’s explanation on how he became wealthy was inconsistent with the rules that guided the Civil Service, where Abubakar worked before retiring.
“They asked one of them. How did you get rich? He said he was doing transportation and motor vehicle business. He had forgotten that civil service (sic), you cannot do any other thing if you are a custom officer but farm. Who is lying to who? Who is contradicting who?” Tinubu asked derisively to the delight of his supporters who cheered him on at the event.
Abubakar, the PDP presidential flag bearer, worked at the Nigeria Customs Service for 20 years until he retired in 1989 as a deputy director to join politics.
Tinubu himself has faced widespread opprobrium over conflicting accounts about the source of his stupendous wealth, which continues to change with every new interview.
The former Lagos governor had always claimed that bonuses from his job as a mid-level official at accounting firm Deloitte made him wealthy.
However, in his most recent assertion, he claimed that he became wealthy after inheriting real estate properties.
In 2020, Peoples Gazette published a series of financial documents that showed how Mr Tinubu was stealing to enrich himself via questionable tax administration in Lagos State.
Both Tinubu and Abubakar, whose sources of wealth appear questionable and have dodgy and uninspiring past are strong contenders in next month’s elections.