The All Progressive Congress (APC) has said Atiku Abubakar, the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), remains a thief despite visiting the United States.
The ruling party has been daring the former vice president popularly known as Atiku to step his foots on the soil of the country to prove his is not corrupt.
He was reportedly banned from the visiting the state over corrupt transactions traced to him.
POLITICS TIMES recalls that since he left office in 2007, Atiku has not visited the US despite owning properties in the country. He reportedly sold some of those properties lately.
On Thursday, the PDP flag-bearer stepped his foot in the US, and this has rattled the APC with some of its officials doubting the authenticity of photos from the visit.
In a statement issued by Adeshegun Labinjo, chairman, US chapter of APC, the party said even though it does not object to Atiku’s entry into the US, “the questionable character of the individual does not evaporate because he has stepped on the soil of America”.
“A thief remains a thief no matter where he or she visits. Obviously, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has every reason to have kept off the USA given the cloak of corruption he is wearing,” the party said.
“After a long spell of noticeable absence and factual concerns about Alhaji Abubakur Atiku’s antecedents in the USA arising from his dealings with former Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana, who was convicted and served a jail term on account of bribery resulting from a telecommunication transaction in Nigeria, Atiku is now here again in the US.
“Congressional records point to the fact that Atiku engaged in money laundering through his wife who was then resident in the USA.
“We see Atiku, who is the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Nigeria, as a self-centered corrupt Vice President under President Obasanjo’s regime.
“Certainly, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku‘s entry and presence in the USA is a mockery of President Bush Presidential Proclamation 7750 which affirms the denial of US visa to foreign officials involved with corruption and other supporting legislations by the congress. APC-USA believes that Alhajl Abubakar Atiku should be held accountable for his involvement in money laundering,” the statement read.
