I Dare You Go To US Because You Are A Liar

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of
Kaduna State has responded
to former Vice President
Atiku Abubakar’s allegation
that he (Atiku) was betrayed
by the governor and former
chairman of the EFCC, Nuhu
Ribadu.
PREMIUM TIMES published
excerpts of an interview
where the former vice
president made the
allegations.
In a statement he personally
signed Tuesday, Mr. El Rufai
accused the former VP of
falsehood.
He said Mr. Abubakar “has a
record of spewing outright
lies and innuendo against my
person”.
“As we struggle to build a
law-abiding society and
secure progressive outcomes
for our people, we cannot
allow the triumph on these
shores of those who will have
us move to a post-factual
world,” he said.
The Kaduna governor said
not even Mr. Abubakar’s
expertise “in the dark arts of
damaging other people
through a campaign of lies
from him and his media
machine” is capable of
returning the country to its
past.
Mr. El-Rufai said contrary to
the postulation by Mr.
Abubakar, he never had
anything to do with the
incorporation of Transcorp.
“Those that established that
company and fronted it like
Festus Odimegwu, Tony
Elumelu, Otunba Lawal
Solarin and Ndi Okereke-
Onyiuke are still around and
alive.“As such I could not have and did not
offer Alhaji Atiku any shares in
Transcorp. I declined the shares that
were offered to me. Having done that,
how could I have offered anyone
shares?,” he said.
The governor said he even advised the
then President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr.
Abubakar, and then finance Minister,
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, not to accept the
shares they were offered by the
promoters of Transcorp.
“My counsel to them was based on the
grounds that they would face conflicts of
interest when Transcorp bids for
privatization assets.
“At the time Alhaji Atiku and Ngozi were
chair and vice-chair of the National
Council on Privatization, and were
particularly directly involved in
approving the sales of state-owned
enterprises and assets.
“It is too late in the day to try to pretend
that the fiasco concerning the attempt by
then Senators Ibrahim Mantu and
Jonathan Zwingina to extort money from
me for Senate clearance never
happened.
“All Alhaji Atiku has just done is confirm
that he paid the Senators, as I revealed
in Page 139 of my book,” he said.
He also said when he published The
Accidental Public Servant in 2013, Mr.
Abubakar unleashed his media team in a
campaign of vilification.
“Despite the viciousness of the attacks,
they did not contest or explain away his
shenanigans that were detailed in the
book, from the Ericsson manoeuvre, to
the Abuja water treatment plant contract
and his obsession with marabouts and
their assurances of the political big
prize.
“He might also consider a full reckoning
for what he and his acolytes did with
public funds in the PTDF imbroglio,
rather than indulging the usual bold face
of the Nigerian big-man.
“As a federal public servant, my oath of
allegiance appropriately stood with the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, not the big
men whose conduct I was privileged to
witness at close quarters.
“People like Alhaji Atiku think that
loyalty to them should be the goal of a
public officer, and that it should trump
the oath of allegiance to the country.
Although Mr. El-Rufai and the former
vice president are both members of the
APC, Nigeria’s ruling party, the Kaduna
governor hinted that their public spat
may be a battle for the party’s
presidential ticket in 2019.
“Alhaji Atiku is already running for
2019, and he thinks that he can make
people like us collateral damage in his
attempt to rejuvenate his image,” the
governor said.
“This obsession for power inclined him
to support the rebellion against the party
that manifested in the National
Assembly, and is continuing with
obvious disrespect for the incumbent
president.
“Everyone knows that I support and will
continue to work for the success of
President Muhammadu Buhari as he
leads our country through tough times,”
he said.
While Mr. Abubakar has not publicly
indicated any interest to run for
president in 2019, several Nigerians
believe he would be Mr. Buhari’s main
opponent should the president seek a
second term in office.
However, there have also been reports
that Mr. El-Rufai is scheming to be the
party’s presidential candidate in 2019
should Mr. Buhari decide not to seek re-
election. Mr. El-Rufai did not comment
on that rumour in his Friday statement.
The governor also accused Mr. Abubakar
of corruption saying the former vice
president has not gone to the U.S. for
fear of being arrested.
“Can Alhaji Atiku explain the findings in
the report of the United States Senate
Permanent Sub-Committee on
Investigations which detailed a pattern
of wire transfers of more than USD 40
million from offshore companies like
Siemens into bank accounts controlled
by him and one of his wives.
“The report detailing the US Senate
findings is online, as one of four case
histories of foreign corruption in the
USA. Alhaji Atiku should tell a better tale
of why he is avoiding the United States
of America.
“Someone as obsessed with Nigeria’s
presidency as he is, should clear up such
matters conclusively. We wait to see how
well he does with that,” Mr. El-Rufai
said.