TMSG Challenges Atiku to Name Legacy Projects Completed During his Tenure as VP to Obasanjo
Oru Leonard
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG), has challenged former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC), presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to identify major infrastructure projects initiated and completed during the eight years of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, in which he served as Vice President.
The group’s challenge comes amid Atiku’s repeated criticism of policies and projects of the administration of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG questioned what it described as Atiku’s attempt to present himself as a more experienced alternative in federal governance.
“We have seen how former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has made it a regular pastime to condemn and criticise virtually all policies and projects initiated by the President Bola Tinubu administration,” the group said.
TMSG also recalled that Atiku had similarly criticised the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, while presenting himself as a viable alternative.
The group therefore asked the former Vice President to “outline for Nigerians the legacy infrastructural projects initiated and completed by that administration in eight years that have stood the test of time.”
It also challenged him to identify policies he personally initiated during his tenure that have had lasting positive impact on the country.
The group disputed attempts by Atiku’s supporters to portray him as the principal driver of the Obasanjo administration’s economic policies, recalling that former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, had previously criticised such claims.
TMSG said Atiku should instead provide a record of major infrastructure projects that could be directly linked to the administration he served.
The group particularly questioned the infrastructure legacy of the period, citing the decline in the power sector and the absence of a modern national rail network as areas that, in its view, remained unresolved.
On the Paris Club debt deal, TMSG referred to the approximately $12.4 billion Nigeria paid under the 2005–2006 debt-relief arrangement and questioned how the fiscal space created by the agreement translated into major completed infrastructure projects.
Official records confirm that Nigeria’s Paris Club debt deal involved a substantial payment in exchange for major debt relief, while the World Bank has described the arrangement as creating fiscal space for increased social expenditure.
The group nevertheless acknowledged that the Obasanjo administration undertook significant economic and institutional reforms, including banking-sector consolidation, telecommunications deregulation, power-sector restructuring and privatisation initiatives.
TMSG argued that the rail sector only began witnessing renewed activity during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, which was subsequently built upon by the Buhari administration, while the Tinubu administration is pursuing further road and rail projects.
The group concluded by urging Nigerians to scrutinise claims of federal-level experience made by political actors as the country approaches the 2027 elections.
The statement is part of the ongoing political debate between supporters of President Tinubu and Atiku over the record of previous administrations and the infrastructure and economic policies of the current government.
