Ask AA: Atiku’s online platform leaves gaps in answers to tough questions

A Premium Times examination of 100 publicly available answers on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s Ask AA platform has found that critical questions are published, but some responses omit requested records, financial figures or political commitments.

Atiku launched the platform on October 15 to engage Nigerians on his political record and policy proposals.

Asked to identify major assets privatised under his supervision, the platform referred the questioner to the Bureau of Public Enterprises without naming assets, buyers or sale prices. On whether he would publish his full assets, it said: “I have never shied away from declaring my assets.” It offered no commitment to public disclosure.

Twelve of the 100 answers were assessed as partly responsive. The report also flagged the platform’s claim of “paying off $30 billion of our foreign debt”, noting that the 2005 Paris Club deal involved about $18 billion in cancellation and about $12.4 billion payable to creditors.

The platform says most answers are put together by an AI system from published documents. Premium Times said it contacted Atiku’s campaign spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, and the platform’s technical team on Friday, and their responses were still awaited.