Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has distanced himself from an empowerment scheme which promises N65,000 to Nigerians, saying it is a scam.

Atiku, who said a group claiming to be “Travelling Abroad Opportunities” has been advertising a so-called “Atiku Grant by FG” on social media, called on security agencies to investigate promoters of the scheme and countless other schemes which aim to scam innocent citizens, and bring them to book.

Atiku said the purported empowerment scheme is promising to hand out N65,000 to successful applicants after they must have filled out an application form and provided their name, account number, and bank.

The former president, in a statement signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe, said “For the avoidance of doubt, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (2023) is not currently running an empowerment scheme that purports to give N65,000 to successful applicants.

Also, there is no organisation related to, connected with, and associated with the former Vice President that is running an empowerment scheme by whatever shape or form.

“The so-called Atiku Grant by FG is a scam, which objective is to fleece unsuspecting Nigerians of their hard-earned money.

“This is to alert Nigerians not to participate in what is obviously a fraudulent scheme that seeks to hoodwink unsuspecting citizens into thinking that it is a scheme by Atiku Abubakar.

“Even if the Waziri Adamawa was going to embark on such a scheme, he would do so directly and not through a third party that is unknown to Nigerians.

“We hereby call on security agencies to investigate promoters of this criminal scheme and countless other schemes, which aim is to scam innocent citizens and bring them to book,” he said.