The emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2019 elections has thrown up old stories on alleged corruption by the ex-Customs Officer.
This followed searches on the internet by Nigerians and others on the accusations levelled against Abubakar that he is corrupt.
Two of the stories stand out.
One is the denial by the United States of America denying that it has a case of corruption against Abubakar.
The second is the allegation by Abubakar’s boss for eight years, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said in an interview that the former Vice President was corrupt.
In the first story, published by Sunday PUNCH, the United States Department of Justice denied having any record indicating that Abubakar has a pending lawsuit in the US.
The position of the US DoJ, was contained in an email to a correspondent of the newspaper.
A spokesperson for the US DoJ, Peter Carr, said: “Thank you for reaching out to us. I have checked the public court records, and they do not show cases filed against a defendant named Atiku Abubakar.”
Asked if indeed Abubakar had been banned from entering the US over allegations of corruption against him, Carr replied: “Visa issues are confidential under section 222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If your question is specifically about entry – not about visas per se – I would refer you to the US Customs and Border Protection.”
Abubakar had several times denied being wanted in the US over allegations of corruption, but admitted he was denied visa to the country.
In the second story, which is trending on Twitter, Obasanjo accused Abubakar in a BBC TV interview of being corrupt.
He stated in the interview why he will never support Abubakar for the presidency of the country.
However, there has been no indictment of Abubakar by any court or body empanelled by even Obasanjo himself to probe the corruption allegations.
Trending
- Sanwo-Olu: We’ve fulfilled our promises
- Upholding Democracy: The imperative of credible party primaries in Nigeria, by Adebanji Dada
- FG revokes 924 dormant mining licences as minister decries racketeering
- Why I didn’t build schools as Anambra governor, Peter Obi replies Omokri
- Establish base in Sambisa forest, Zulum tells Army
- EFCC withdraws appeal against former Kogi Governor Bello
- Fidelity Bank commends Air Peace’s performance
- How AI, automation, and trusted data are shaping next-generation customer service, by Linda Saunders