Corruption: Stop taunting me, Atiku tells Obasanjo Former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has reacted to media reports, attributed to his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in which he was linked with corruption offences. Obasanjo, in an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) magazine, Zero Tolerance interview, but published in some national dailies, yesterday had said the former vice president risked jail sentence if he travelled to the United States. But the former vice-president in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday by his media aide, Mallam Garba Sheu faulted Obasanjo’s claim. Atiku, in the statement, detailed his past trips to the United States as vice-president under Chief Obasanjo administration and shortly after he lost the 2007 presidential election to the late president Umar Yar’ Adua. “The former president is wrong. It is widely known that Atiku didn’t enter government broke. He declared his assets at the commencement of his vice presidency and did so at the end of his term as required by the constitution, which is a sacred document to Atiku. “Atiku, who is currently returning from China after leading a private economic trade mission at the invitation of the Chinese government, travels often and has a well-documented record of building industries and putting thousands of Nigerians to work. And this record, quite frankly, has been thoroughly investigated.” While reiterating that he had no case against him by any arm of the law in any country in the world, including the United States, Atiku submitted that, “President Obasanjo’s repeated ‘jokes’ about Turaki not being able to go to America have become cliché, tiresome and not true.” The media adviser recalled that in 2006, former president Obasanjo sent his National Security Adviser (NSA) to stop Atiku from travelling to the US, saying the vice president risked arrest on arrival. He said Turaki spurned that advice, left Nigeria to land at the Andrews Air Force Base, the official airport of the US government, to receive the best reception ever on a visit to America. “So, we are used to those taunts,” he said. He further noted that when the former vice president left office shortly before the late Musa Yar’Adua was inaugurated as president, Atiku spent three months in the US, adding that if they (US authorities) wanted him for anything, they would have met him. “It is time to start dealing in facts. Specifically, the fact that Atiku’s visa to visit the United States has been recently renewed.Another fact is Atiku is one of the most investigated politicians in Nigerian history. And every investigation, whether politically motivated here at home or by the FBI abroad, has yielded the same result every time: not guilty. “If Atiku is guilty of anything, it is crushing persistent attempts at re-writing our constitution. Atiku has chosen the path of optimism and hope. Moving forward, he will continue working to fuel Nigeria’s economy through investment and job creation, while also passionately and persistently defending our young democracy,” the statement noted.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 05:35:42 +0000
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