Fact Check: No Evidence Atiku Said He Would Sell CBN If Elected President
By Aliyu Oyewole
A viral screenshot circulating on social media has claimed that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said he would sell the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) if elected president in 2027.
Atiku is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The claim was shared on Sunday by an X user, @Sistaliano@Sistaliano, alongside a purported quotation attributed to Atiku which reads: “I will sell Central Bank if I’m elected. Other countries have done it in the past — Atiku Abubakar.”
The post, which has attracted more than 20,000 views on X, attributed the alleged statement to Sahara Reporters, an online news platform.
Other social media users have also circulated the claim across X, further amplifying the screenshot.
The claim emerged shortly after Atiku stated that he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president.
Can the CBN Be Sold?
Central banks are generally owned and controlled by governments because they perform critical sovereign functions. In countries where private individuals or entities hold shares in a central bank, such ownership does not ordinarily give them control over monetary policy or the institution’s governance.
A handful of central banks have private shareholders, including those in Belgium, Greece, Italy, Japan, San Marino, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), for instance, has had privately held shares for decades. However, the South African government retains control over the bank’s monetary policy and its public responsibilities.
Central banks carry out essential functions such as issuing a country’s currency, managing foreign reserves, serving as a lender of last resort and formulating monetary policy.
Transferring ownership of such an institution to private interests would therefore raise significant legal, constitutional and economic concerns, including questions about conflicts of interest and the credibility and independence of monetary policy.
Verification of the Claim
The Nigeria Times found no report on the Sahara Reporters website supporting the statement attributed to Atiku in the viral screenshot.
The design of the circulating screenshot also differs from the publication’s usual graphic format, raising further questions about its authenticity.
A review by Cable Check similarly found no video recording, official statement or social media post from Atiku or the ADC confirming that he made the alleged remark.
No credible mainstream media organisation was also found to have reported the claim, despite the significant attention such a statement from a major presidential candidate would ordinarily attract.
Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, dismissed the claim as false.
“Atiku Abubakar has never said that he would ‘sell the Central Bank of Nigeria’ if elected President,” Shaibu said.
He explained that the CBN is the country’s statutory monetary authority and should not be regarded as a commercial government asset that can simply be offered for sale.
According to him, attributing such a position to Atiku amounts to either fabrication or a misrepresentation of his economic reform proposals.
Shaibu added that Atiku’s stated position has been to strengthen public institutions, restore the independence and credibility of the CBN, and implement targeted reforms of government-owned commercial enterprises where necessary.
He stressed that such reforms should not be misconstrued as a plan to privatise or sell the Central Bank.
Verdict
False.
There is no publicly available evidence that Atiku Abubakar said he would sell the Central Bank of Nigeria if elected president in 2027.
The viral screenshot is not supported by any credible report from Sahara Reporters, Atiku, the ADC or other reputable media organisations. There is also no established precedent of a government simply selling its central bank as a commercial asset.
