Atiku's Ask AA Offers Answers, But Some Are Incomplete

When a Nigerian asked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s new online platform about major public assets sold during his time, including details on buyers and sale prices, the answer did not provide that information.

Instead, the response directed the questioner to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the federal agency in charge of Nigeria’s privatisation. No details about the assets, buyers, or sale prices were given.

Another question asked whether Atiku would openly publish his full asset declaration, rather than just filing it with the appropriate authorities.

“I have never shied away from declaring my assets,” the response said. No promise of public disclosure was made.

Both questions were posted on Ask AA, a platform Atiku launched on 15 October to connect with Nigerians about his political record and policy ideas.

On 16 October, PREMIUM TIMES reviewed 100 answers available on the platform and 160 supporting source panels. These covered topics like privatisation, public spending, corruption claims, electoral promises, and Atiku’s record in office.

All 100 answers included at least one supporting source panel. Twelve of them were deemed partly responsive, as they left out significant parts of the questions.

Questions Without Clear Answers

Atiku’s plans for financial support for domestically refined petrol were among the questioned policies.

When asked how much the subsidy would cost each year and where the funds would come from, the platform mentioned domestic crude sales and fiscal stabilisation measures. Specific amounts and annual cost estimates were not provided.

A related answer on preventing subsidy fraud was more detailed. It suggested using digital meters at refinery gates, verifying production volumes, tracking the supply chain, publicly reporting subsidy payments, and conducting independent audits.

Atiku’s age and potential presidential term also raised questions.

One user asked why younger politicians should not be given a chance and whether Atiku would serve only one term if elected.

The response highlighted his experience in managing the economy and security.

“The second term is not an automatic entitlement,” it said. This did not clearly commit to serving just one term.

Questions Over Historical Accuracy

Two answers raised doubts about historical accuracy.

Regarding debt management, the platform claimed, “We were able to manage our debt well, paying off $30 billion of our foreign debt.”

Nigeria’s 2005 Paris Club settlement, a key part of the country's debt relief during Atiku’s vice presidency, included both debt cancellation and payments to creditors.

The Paris Club agreement shows approximately $18 billion was canceled and around $12.4 billion was payable to creditors. The wording in the platform does not separate debt written off from money repaid, which could mislead readers.

The supporting passage alongside the answer, from a document named Party Manifesto 2027, 2031, talks about economic policy but does not support the historical $30 billion claim. It was unclear if this claim appears elsewhere in the complete document.

Another answer about allegations related to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund incorrectly referred to the agency as the “Petroleum Development Trust Fund.”

Its true name is the Petroleum Technology Development Fund. This mistake also showed up in the supporting source passage. It is unclear if it came from the original material, an automated process, or later editing.

These answers also made claims about past investigations, their findings, and the lack of prosecutions. These claims were not independently verified against complete investigative and legal records.

Who Answers the Questions?

Atiku’s launch announcement described Ask AA as a way for Nigerians to engage directly with him, with help from his media team.

The website’s terms of use explain that it also uses artificial intelligence to generate responses from published documents. Questions not found in those materials may be grouped for Atiku's attention.

A published explanation states, “Most answers are put together by an AI system from those documents and checked against them before you see them.”

It also says Atiku prepares answers when his published material does not cover a question.

The website does not say who does the checks, if every answer gets human review, or which responses Atiku personally writes or approves.

Out of the 100 sampled answers, eleven referenced supporting material labeled “candidate-approved.” This label describes the claimed status of the material, not proof that Atiku personally wrote or approved the displayed answers.

Readers can compare answers with cited passages, but complete copies of the underlying campaign documents were not independently verified.

Some displayed passages had prepared questions and responses. This does not prove that public questions were made up or submitted before the platform's launch.

Comparing Ask AA with Other Platforms

Ask AA is not the first digital engagement linked to Atiku’s campaigns. In February 2019, TheNiche reported on an earlier service, Ask Atiku Yourself, which allowed users to choose preset questions and get matching video responses. This service was different from Ask AA’s searchable collection of public answers and supporting source excerpts.

Another platform, Ask President Tinubu, has City Boy Movement branding and features a voice agent called Temi. This agent discusses the president’s administration. In three recorded conversations with PREMIUM TIMES, Temi answered questions about petrol subsidy savings, public spending, security, and policy targets.

Twice, the agent claimed that removing the petrol subsidy saved nearly $10 billion that would have been borrowed. It said this figure came from the administration’s published records but did not provide specific documents or calculations. When asked for official records showing how the savings were spent, Temi admitted it did not have detailed breakdowns and referred to government programs instead.

The agent also provided estimates of reductions in terrorism-related deaths and mass kidnappings between 2023 and 2024, without specific documents for independent verification.

Its answers changed when asked to name an administration policy that had not met its goal. In one conversation, Temi mentioned the goal of having one million compressed natural gas vehicles by 2027, noting that implementation was ongoing. In another chat, it refused to assess policy shortcomings, saying its role was to explain the administration’s record instead of highlighting failures.

When asked about the difference, Temi insisted it gave the same response both times, although earlier recordings showed it had discussed the CNG target. In a later conversation, it mentioned the CNG program and ongoing coastal highway construction while admitting it did not have a compiled list of missed targets.

Neither an unfinished project nor a 2027 target that has not yet been reached means the government has missed a deadline.

When asked for documentary evidence, Temi referred to an administration compendium but could not provide a direct link. It offered human follow-up, which PREMIUM TIMES did not pursue.

The recordings show that Temi can respond to spoken questions in the tested conditions, but do not confirm the service’s overall accuracy or consistency.

Unlike Ask AA, which shares searchable questions and supporting excerpts, no similar public answer archive was found on the Tinubu-related platform's interface. It is unclear if completed conversations are stored or accessible publicly elsewhere. The platform’s launch date, legal operator, funding, and formal relationship with the presidency have not been independently verified.

The federal government also launched GovGuide Nigeria in May 2026, through the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, in partnership with Meta. GovGuide provides information about government services, not a presidential candidate’s political record.

These initiatives have different purposes, operations, and information available for public scrutiny. Their existence does not prove that Ask AA is Nigeria’s first political question-and-answer platform.

What Happens to Users’ Information?

Ask AA’s privacy notice, dated 14 October, lists Intingo AI Technologies as the platform’s operator for the Atiku campaign.

The initial question form did not ask for names, emails, or phone numbers. The site also has optional contact and survey features.

According to the notice, optional demographic survey responses are combined to show which groups ask about specific topics. These counts may be used for campaign planning, like deciding which issues Atiku and his team address.

The notice states that participation is optional, survey answers are not linked to submitted questions, and only aggregate counts are kept.

These are the platform’s published safeguards. PREMIUM TIMES did not check the underlying database or test how the information is stored and used.

The policy outlines different retention plans.

Questions will be kept until 31 December 2027 and then reviewed, instead of being automatically deleted on that date.

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are kept in security logs for 14 days, while optional email addresses will be deleted after answer notifications, no later than 90 days.

For WhatsApp notifications, the notice promises to unlink a phone number from a question within 90 days. It does not clearly state that every copy of the number or related message will be erased by then.

The platform mentions third-party providers involved in AI responses, speech, translation, messaging, and website delivery. It also notes that some information is processed outside Nigeria.

Under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, organizations handling personal data have responsibilities about lawful processing, transparency, individual rights, and international transfers.

The published arrangements leave questions about data-controller responsibilities, processing, and retention safeguards. No breach of the law was found during the examination.

Language Access and Response Times

Ask AA offers support in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.

During desktop testing, headings and form controls changed when the three Nigerian languages were selected.

However, the main privacy and terms documents remained in English during the tests. One public answer also stayed in English across the three language options.

The test did not cover all answers or check translation quality and mobile-device accessibility.

The platform provides public search and question-tracking features, but PREMIUM TIMES did not submit a question or test tracking for a new submission.

The 100 captured answer pages did not have reliable submission and response timestamps.

Without those records, it was not possible to calculate average response times or verify Atiku’s claim that the platform received over 1,000 questions within 30 minutes of launch.

Campaign and Technical Team Contacted

PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Atiku’s campaign spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, and the Ask AA technical team on Friday, seeking clarification on the findings.

The campaign was questioned about privatisation records, public asset declarations, presidential tenure, proposed petrol subsidy, the debt-settlement claim, the PTDF error, and Atiku’s personal involvement in preparing answers.

Questions to the technical team focused on AI verification, source authentication, moderation, response statistics, language access, and personal-data safeguards.

Their responses were still pending when this report was put together.

Ask AA has made questions about Atiku’s political record publicly available, including those on privatisation, corruption claims, and policy proposals.

But many answers reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES did not provide the records, numbers, or commitments specifically asked for. For Nigerians looking to scrutinize a potential president, the ability to ask tough questions is vital. So is the ability to verify the answers.