Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has rejected claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “donated his party” to enable Atiku to contest the 2007 presidential election.
In a statement released on Friday, September 11, 2026, via his official X handle, Ibe clarified that the Action Congress (AC) emerged from a broader political merger rather than a personal concession.
The clarification followed assertions made by Arise News anchor Rufai Oseni during The Morning Show, where it was suggested that Tinubu helped Atiku secure the AC ticket. Addressing what he termed “considerable misinformation,” Ibe stated that reducing the historical timeline to a benefactor-beneficiary relationship distorts the political record.
According to Ibe, the Action Congress was formed in 2006 out of a broad-based coalition following the political struggle against former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term ambition. The realignment brought together:
The Alliance for Democracy (AD) Faction, Led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, and Chief Adebayo Adefarati.
The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) / PDP Breakaway Group, Led by Atiku Abubakar, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Ambassador Bashir Dalhatu, and Alhaji Ghali Umar Na’Abba and other political alignments, Including the Justice Party and various smaller political formations.
To support his account, Ibe referenced Chief Bisi Akande’s autobiography, in which the pioneer National Chairman of the AC wrote, “In 2007, we formed a party, the AC with Abubakar Atiku.”
He noted that while an early understanding existed for Atiku to run alongside Tinubu, that arrangement did not materialize because Atiku was not inclined toward a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Atiku eventually contested the 2007 poll on the AC platform alongside Senator Ben Obi as his running mate.
Ibe also cited historical accounts from former AC National Chairman Chief Tom Ikimi, which describe the party as a joint coalition rather than an individual’s private asset.
Dismissing suggestions that Atiku never reciprocated political support, Ibe pointed to their shared history in the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and noted that during the 2003 general elections, Atiku declined to support efforts by the PDP-led federal administration to unseat Tinubu in Lagos State.
”The history is not one of Tinubu simply giving Atiku a political platform and receiving nothing in return,” Ibe emphasised. “Atiku and Tinubu were political partners who exchanged political favours at different points.”
