By Uzair Adam
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has disassociated himself from an alleged empowerment scheme promising N65,000 to applicants, describing it as a scam designed to defraud unsuspecting citizens.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku disclosed that a group identified as “Travelling Abroad Opportunities” has been promoting the so-called “Atiku Grant by FG” on social media.
He called on security agencies to investigate the perpetrators and take appropriate action to protect the public.
“For the avoidance of doubt, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria (1999–2007) and Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (2023), is not currently running an empowerment scheme that purports to give N65,000 to successful applicants,” the statement read.
He clarified that neither he nor any organization associated with him is involved in such a scheme, emphasizing that the initiative is a ploy to deceive Nigerians into providing sensitive personal and financial information.
“The so-called ‘Atiku Grant by FG’ is a scam whose objective is to fleece unsuspecting Nigerians of their hard-earned money,” he added.
Atiku assured Nigerians that any legitimate empowerment initiative he might undertake would be directly communicated and not executed through unknown third parties.
The former vice president urged security agencies to act swiftly against the fraudsters and other similar schemes targeting innocent citizens.