Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of serial governance blunders, which he said had become unbearable.

Commenting on the leadership crisis at the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), Atiku lamented that there is another disgraceful episode in a “growing catalogue of administrative confusion” that has turned governance into a national spectacle.

He said the governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr Dakorinama Alabo George, refused to vacate the office of the Executive Secretary of BCDA, despite his replacement by the Presidency.

George had resigned to contest the governorship primaries in Rivers alongside Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Kingsley Chinda and Tonye Cole. However, he withdrew from the contest at the last minute to pave the way for Chinda, Wike’s anointed candidate, who consequently emerged as the APC governorship flag bearer in Rivers.

Having failed to secure the APC governorship ticket, George returned to his office at the agency, noting that a former House of Representatives member, Abdulrazak Sa’ad Namdas, whom Tinubu appointed as his replacement, had been unable to assume office.

Reacting to the controversy in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the country was increasingly being portrayed as a state where official pronouncements no longer command official obedience.

According to him, the BCDA controversy is only the latest in a disturbing pattern of “institutional disorder” under the present administration.

Atiku recalled the confusion that engulfed the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), where conflicting claims over the agency’s leadership left Nigerians wondering which presidential directive was authentic.

He noted that the BCDA debacle also comes on the heels of a succession of avoidable controversies that have diminished public confidence in government.

Atiku further stated that the recurring crises suggest deeper problems within government, including weak institutional coordination, inadequate legal vetting, poor consultation, and a disregard for due process.

He called on the Presidency to immediately clarify the legal status of the BCDA leadership, ensure that all future appointments strictly comply with the enabling laws establishing public institutions, and restore discipline to the machinery of government.

In another development, the former vice president also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as its silence on the death of 26-year-old Mary Habila, calling for an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death at the private residence of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.

In a statement posted on his verified Facebook page on Thursday, Atiku expressed “deep sorrow and mounting concern” over the death of Habila, a native of Nok in Southern Kaduna, who reportedly died on June 27, 2026, at Umahi’s residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State.

He extended condolences to the deceased’s family, saying no family should have to mourn a daughter, “while also fighting simply to learn the truth of how she died.

“But condolences are not enough. Nigerians deserve answers, and it is on this score that the Tinubu administration has failed, comprehensively and disgracefully,” Atiku said.

The former vice president lamented what he described as the Federal Government’s failure to ensure transparency in handling the case, noting that the incident only came to public attention after it was reported by Sahara Reporters.

According to him, no autopsy had been conducted three weeks after Habila’s death, no official cause of death had been established, and the investigation remained with the Ebonyi State Police Command despite the minister’s longstanding political influence in the state.

Meanwhile, the ADC presidential flagbearer has criticised the minister’s continued role in managing public communication on the matter.

While stressing that he was not accusing anyone of wrongdoing, Atiku maintained that only a credible and independent investigation could establish the truth.

He argued that the government has an obligation to ensure transparency whenever a death involves a senior public official.

Atiku further demanded “a full, independent, and internationally credible autopsy” with the findings made public, while calling on authorities to protect Habila’s family from “any pressure, inducement, or intimidation” and guarantee them unrestricted access to information relating to the case.

IN another development, Atiku Abubakar’s media office has accused President Bola Tinubu of interfering in the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) election, describing it as a rehearsal for rigging the 2027 General Elections.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the Atiku Media Office said it was concerned that Tinubu had extended what it called “state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation” to the NBA polls.

The Atiku office alleged that the tactics being used in the NBA election mirror the strategy the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) was preparing to deploy in 2027.

“Curiously, this same strategy of imposition without allowing for free, fair and credible elections is what the Tinubu-led APC administration is working assiduously towards in the 2027 General Elections,” it said, adding that the President was “weakening opposition parties by instigating crises in the parties, destroying our democratic institutions and focused on rigging the elections.”

According to the statement, “the wild seeds of coronation that are being sown all over the place, have found accommodation in the NBA Election.”

The group cited media reports alleging that government agents had resorted to the use of the courts to pressure Bar members into accepting a preferred candidate, calling this “a dangerous precedent that is capable of widening our fault lines, which this administration’s politics has turned into craters.”

The Atiku Media Office concluded that the situation reveals the ruling party’s intentions ahead of the next general elections, stating, “This desperation shows how the Tinubu-led APC government plans to use government agencies to rig the 2027 General elections.”