”If The System Were To Be Working, Atiku Would Be In Jail By Now Instead Of Contesting For Presidency” – Festus Keyamo

”If The System Were To Be Working, Atiku Would Be In Jail By Now Instead Of Contesting For Presidency” – Festus Keyamo

Spokesperson
of the Buhari Campaign Organization, Festus Keyamo, has said that
former Vice President, now PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar,
would have been in jail at the moment and not contesting for presidency,
if the ”country’s system were to be working”.

Keyamo said this in a statement released on Wednesday. Read below.

IF THE SYSTEM WERE TO BE WORKING BEFORE PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI
TOOK OVER IN 2015, ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR WOULD BE IN JAIL BY NOW INSTEAD
OF CONTESTING FOR THE PRESIDENCY.

Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to the
Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar disputing the assertion by President Muhammadu Buhari that the
system in Nigeria allows corruption to thrive because the system is slow
in tackling corruption. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar further blamed President
Muhammadu Buhari for perceived failure in addressing some instances of
‘corrupt practices’ under his watch.

Let us remind Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that he is one of the greatest
beneficiaries of the failed system in tackling corruption that was in
place before President Muhammadu Buhari took over in 2015. We know he is
aware of this, hence his latest diatribe against President Muhammadu
Buhari amounts to nothing but disgusting grandstanding and an attempt to
mock the system.

If the system in Nigeria was indeed working, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
would not have acquired substantial shares in INTELS in clear conflict
of his duties as a Customs Officer whilst in office. Those shares would
have belonged to the Nigerian people by now.

If the system in Nigeria was indeed working, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
would not have run a monopolistic company called INTELS all these years,
ripping off the Nigerian people and the Nigerian State before Muhammadu
Buhari came and broke that monopoly.

If the system was working, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would have been
prosecuted and jailed for various acts of corruption and abuse of office
after he left office as Vice President, some of which are:

(a) For himself and his boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, granting
themselves licenses to build universities as President and Vice
President whilst in office in clear breach of the Code of Conduct for
Public Officers. Those Universities would have been probed, seized and
transferred to the Nigeria State and the Nigerian people by now.

(b) Laundering slush funds to the United States of America using
phony companies, part of which was used to fund his present American
University in Adamawa State through which he is also extorting Nigerians
through exorbitant fees. It is public knowledge that this indictment is
contained in a US Congressional Report that has led to the prosecution
and conviction of his accomplices in the US, which are William Jefferson
and Siemens. They were convicted under a system that works, whilst he
has been walking free in Nigeria and even aspiring to the highest office
in the land. It is also public knowledge that his ban from entering the
United States was as a result of these indictments.

(c) His indictment and recommendation for prosecution by the Report
of the EFCC over the PTDF scandal whilst he was Vice President.

We have also read with keen interest the case filed against Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar by some public spirited Nigerians alleging that he never
paid his Personal Income Taxes as at when due, yet he wants to ‘get
Nigeria working again’. In this regard, we are also challenging Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar to publicly display his Personal Income Tax receipts for
the 3 years preceding 2018 to show that he did not just run to FIRS in
2018 to pay his backlog of Personal Income Taxes.

For the information of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, President Muhammadu
Buhari’s gallant efforts in tackling corruption headlong has led to the
conviction of the President’s own party men and ex Governors who served
under PDP and for acts they committed whilst in PDP. 703 persons and
institutions have been convicted by the EFCC under the watch of
President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015. The biggest recoveries of stolen
public funds in the history of Nigeria is being carried out by President
Muhammadu Buhari. These recoveries were made from principally his party
men who now wish to lead Nigeria with him. Some of these
recoveries/seizures/forfeitures (interim and final) are:

(a) 407 Mansions since 2015.
(b) N794 Billion, over $261 Million Dollars, 1.1 Million Pounds Sterling, 8.1 Million Euros,
(c) 259 Automobiles.
(d) A fully functional hospital, St. Solomon Health Care Centre at 24, Adeniyi Jones Street, Ikeja Lagos e.t.c.

There are so many other instances too numerous to mention. These are a
world apart from the few instances of the reluctant fight against
corruption that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar claimed happened under his watch
as Vice President. During his time, there was a competition for
corruption between himself, his boss and public officers.

We also urge the PDP to stop making wild, unsubstantiated allegations
of corruption without a modicum of proof. We have no time to respond to
any allegation by the PDP without the backing of some kind of document
or proof. When we see some scintilla of proof, we shall respond
appropriately. And that is how we have treated the recent allegation of
acquisition of shares in Etisalat and Keystone Bank by some supposed
‘family members’ of the President. No name was mentioned and no document
was shown.

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar latest adventure in trying to stand
shoulder-to-shoulder in matters of integrity with President Muhammadu
Buhari is a political suicide mission from which we thought his handlers
would have tried to steer him away. But alas! They have decided to test
the waters. Locally and internationally President Muhammadu Buhari
stands several miles away from Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in matters of
integrity. When the President used all his life in public office
building a reputation and a name, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar used all his
life in public office to build mansions and acquire personal wealth. Now
Judgment Day has come when the credential needed by the Nigerian people
for the highest office are not the buildings and wealth but the simple
quality of integrity.

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar cannot eat his cake and have it.

Thank you.

FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, FCIArb (UK)
Director of Strategic Communications (Official Spokesperson) 
President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organization.