The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded immediate withdrawal of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the presidential race over alleged involvement in corrupt practices.
Information Nigeria had reported that, earlier in the week, Michael Achimugu, who claimed to be a former aide to Atiku, shared a video, alleging that the former vice-president admitted to have collected N100 million bribe from Joshua Dariye, a former Plateau State governor, which was paid directly to Marine Float, one of the three firms he registered.
In the audio recording which Achimugu claimed was with Atiku, the former Vice President is heard explaining how he set up an ‘SPV -Special Purpose Vehicle’ to receive monies from corruption-related dealings.
APC PCC Director (Media and Publicity), Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Wednesday, also asked the presidential candidate of the PDP to come clean on his health status.
“A man who wants to rule Nigeria and wants Nigerians to repose some trust in him must immediately and honestly address these twin issues: his health and his legendary corruption,” Onanuga said.
The statement reads: “It’s time for Atiku Abubakar, the 76 year-old presidential candidate of PDP to come clean over two issues clouding his campaign: his health status and his scandalous confession of how he colluded with his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to fleece the Nigerian treasury, using special purpose vehicles after he became Vice President in 1999.
“If Atiku has some modicum of honour, he ought to have stepped down from the race that he is bound to lose again, following the release of his audio clip, in which he provides a vivid explanation into the modus operandi of his legendary corruption.
“So far, there has been no notable response from Atiku’s camp about the disturbing revelation, except for a futile attempt to disown the whistle blower, Michael Achimugu, a media consultant to Atiku.
“Nigerians are appalled that Atiku and PDP are so shameless that they have shrugged off the bombshell. We implore Nigerians, however, to hold Atiku to account over the shocking revelation by rejecting him at the polls in February.
“Atiku is also not talking about his health status, even when his hirelings daily make futile attempts to divert public attention to his main rival by cooking up lies upon lies. Whereas Atiku is the candidate that Nigerians should be sorely worried about.
“The lies of several years and various diversionary tactics are no longer sustainable. Atiku’s edifice of lies is about to crash on him. The PDP presidential candidate is certainly not okay, the papering efforts notwithstanding.
“Eyebrows were raised when Atiku did not return to the country after the December holidays to continue his lacklustre and faltering fifth campaign for Nigeria’s presidency.”
“Amid the concern by political watchers that Atiku was missing December 21, 2022 on the field of electioneering campaign, came the story by the online platform, Sahara Reporters, that Atiku was flown to the U.K. from his usual home in Dubai to London for treatment.
“The story has not been vigorously denied. We have it on good authority that Atiku indeed fell ill, while missing on the field. He was indeed in the U.K. for some medical help, though handlers camouflaged that he was there on the invitation of some British officials at Whitehall, in a mimic of the earlier visit of the APC rival, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Despite the efforts by his handlers to showcase Atiku as healthy and physically fit to endure the rigours of the presidential campaign, pictures from rallies have belied this. Campaign pictures sometimes showed him being helped to descend steps at stadia. Sometimes, he walked with apparent handicap, dragging his feet.”
