The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential
candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed
allegation that he used his position in the
Nigerian Customs Service to perpetrate acts of
corruption.
Abubakar made the remark on Wednesday in
Abuja at a town hall meeting organised by the
Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Daria
Media with support from the MacArthur
Foundation.
The town hall meeting tagged: “The Candidates“is
a two-hour televised series which features
Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates of
four leading political parties.
The parties were selected from the results of
multiple polls aggregated by the Centre for
Democracy and Development (CDD).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
the custom allegation followed the controversial
importation of 53 suit cases into the country in
1984 by a first class traditional ruler in the North.
Abubakar was the Customs Officer in Charge of
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport
when the suitcases were brought into the
country.
He also refuted allegations that one of his wives
had a case of money laundering to face in the
United States of America, and could therefore, not
travel abroad since the allegation.
It would be recalled that a United States Senate
report had accused Atiku Abubakar of laundering
over $40 million in suspicious funds into the
United States between 2000 and 2008, using his
fourth wife, Jennifer.
According to the report, which was written by the
US Senate Sub-committee on Investigations,
most of the funds were through wire transfers
sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank
accounts.
Abubakar, in the town hall meeting, however,
refuted the allegation, saying his wife had never
been indicted or accused of such offence.
“My Wife has not been indicted and she has not
been charged, so there is no way you can hold
her accountable, she has been traveling to
America very often,“ he said.
The PDP presidential candidate stressed that he
had the experience to ensure the development of
the county and make it the envy of other nations.
According to him, the present All Progressives
Congress (APC) administration has not been able
to deliver on its three cardinal campaign promises
in 2015, which included security, economy and
fighting corruption.
He said the administration had also performed
below expectations, adding that he had the
business experience which he acquired over time
to ensure the development of the country.
Abubakar said that he is the bridge between the
future and the present, stressing that he had all it
would take to get the country working again.
He also noted that there was so much bottleneck
in the country`s judicial system, adding that his
administration would change the narrative if he
became the country`s next president.
He further said that he would introduce a judicial
reform that would address the bottlenecks in the
judiciary, using legislative process as was
obtainable in other countries.
Abubakar, who was the country`s Vice President
under the President Olusegun Obasanjo
administration also said that if elected as the
country`s next president, he would sustain the
fight against corruption.
NAN reports that Abubakar had a fractured
relationship with Obasonjo, his former boss, but
had to mend fences with him after he won the
PDP ticket to fly the party`s flag in the coming
presidential election slated for Feb. 16.
Mr Peter Obi, Abubakar`s running mate and a
former Governor of Anambra, who also featured at
the town hall meeting, said Atiku had the capacity
to address the country`s growing unemployment
statistics.
“If you look at his cumulative experience, his age
notwithstanding, you will agree with me that he
had what it will take to address the country`s
developmental challenges,“ he said.
Obi also refuted allegations that as governor of
Anambra, he used his position to register a
company with most of his family members as
shareholders, saying he left large sums of money
in the state account at the end of his tenure.
The platform provided an opportunity for the
studio audience which included Civil Society
Organisations, Diplomatic Corps and some
members of the general public who had applied
online to directly interact with the presidential
candidate and his running mate.
The event was also streamed online at
www.dtv.media to enable Nigerians in the
diaspora and those not near television screens to
participate.(NAN)
source: thenationonlineng.net/atiku-denies-perpetrating-corruption-serving-customs-service/
