by Oge Okonkwo

Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, has denied any allegation of corruption brought against him by the former president, President Olusegun Obasanjo.

In an interview published by  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) magazine ‘Zero Tolerance’, Obasanjo had accused Atiku of corruption saying that Atiku cannot travel to the Unites States of America because he was scared of an arrest over the corruption cases he would face there.

In a statement made by Atiku’s media aide, Garba Shehu, which was made available to newsmen yesterday, he said  “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.”

Leadership Newspapers reports:

He continued, “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.”

Shehu reiterated that Atiku has no case against him in any country in the world, including the US, and noted that Obasanjo has worn out his joke that Atiku cannot travel to the US.

According to Shehu, in 2006 Obasanjo had sent his National Security Adviser (NSA) to stop Atiku from travelling to the US, saying that the Vice President risked arrest on arrival.  However, Atiku spurned that advice and landed in the US to a rousing welcome. Also, Atiku spent three month in the US in 2007.

Shehu said, “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.”