Atiku aide says he paid for Tinubu's first Saudi pilgrimage
- Phrank Shaibu, media aide to Atiku Abubakar, said Atiku funded President Tinubu's first trip to Saudi Arabia.
- He spoke on Politics Today, arguing pilgrimages should stay private and not be politicised.
- Tinubu is currently in Makkah for Umrah and has said he prayed for Nigeria's unity.
A media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said Atiku paid for President Bola Tinubu's first visit to Saudi Arabia, and challenged the President to deny it.
Phrank Shaibu made the claim on Monday while appearing on the programme Politics Today. He said the former vice president covered the cost of that early pilgrimage out of generosity, and that the record exists for anyone to check.
Shaibu's comments came as attention focused on Tinubu's current trip to Makkah, where the President is performing Umrah, the lesser Hajj.
Why it matters
The exchange touches on how much of a leader's religious life should be public. Shaibu argued that worship is a private matter and should not be turned into political messaging. He said Atiku spent 30 days in Saudi Arabia for Umrah during the last Ramadan without issuing any statement about it.
Tinubu, for his part, has described the current pilgrimage as personally important. According to him, he used the opportunity to pray for Nigeria's unity and asked for wisdom and resilience to keep serving the country. He also spoke about his administration's economic direction, saying the foundation is solid and the economy has come out of the dark tunnel.
Neither the Presidency nor Atiku's camp has provided documents on the earlier trip, and Daily Post and Leadership, which both reported Shaibu's remarks, did not say when that first visit took place. Nigerians should treat the sponsorship claim as an allegation made on a television programme until it is backed with evidence or denied by the President.
For ordinary Nigerians, the back-and-forth is likely to be read against the cost of living and the state of the economy, which the President says is improving. Pilgrimages are personal, but when public figures discuss who paid for whose trip, it becomes part of the political conversation.
What happens next
It is not clear whether the Presidency will respond to Shaibu's challenge. Atiku has not commented publicly on the claim, and the aide spoke in his own capacity as a media adviser.
