By Emmanuel Mogbede
#TrackNigeria: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate has dismissed allegation that he used his position in the Nigerian Customs Service to perpetrate acts of corruption.
Abubakar made the remark on Wednesday in Abuja at a town hall meeting organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Daria Media with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
The town hall meeting tagged: “The Candidates“is a two-hour televised series which features Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates of four leading political parties.
The parties were selected from the results of multiple polls aggregated by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).
The custom allegation followed the controversial importation of 53 suit cases into the country in 1984 by a first class traditional ruler in the North.
Abubakar was the Customs Officer in Charge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport when the suit cases were brought into the country.
He also refuted allegations that one of his wives had a case of money laundering to face in the United States of America, and could therefore, not travel abroad since the allegation.
It would be recalled that a United States Senate report had accused Atiku Abubakar of laundering over $40 million in suspicious funds into the United States between 2000 and 2008, using his fourth wife, Jennifer.
According to the report, which was written by the US Senate Sub-committee on Investigations, most of the funds were through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts.
Abubakar, in the town hall meeting, however, refuted the allegation, saying his wife had never been indicted or accused of such offence.
“My Wife has not been indicted and she has not been charged, so there is no way you can hold her accountable, she has been traveling to America very often,“ he said.
The PDP presidential candidate stressed that he had the experience to ensure the development of the county and make it the envy of other nations.
According to him, the present All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has not been able to deliver on its three cardinal campaign promises in 2015, which included security, economy and fighting corruption.
He said the administration had also performed below expectations, adding that he had the business experience which he acquired over time to ensure the development of the country.
Abubakar said that he is the bridge between the future and the present, stressing that he had all it would take to get the country working again.
He also noted that there was so much bottleneck in the country`s judicial system, adding that his administration would change the narrative if he became the country`s next president.
He further said that he would introduce a judicial reform that would address the bottlenecks in the judiciary, using legislative process as was obtainable in other countries.
Abubakar, who was the country`s Vice President under the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration also said that if elected as the country`s next president, he would sustain the fight against corruption.
Abubakar had a fractured relationship with Obasanjo, his former boss, but had to mend fences with him after he won the PDP ticket to fly the party`s flag in the coming presidential election slated for Feb. 16.
Mr Peter Obi, Abubakar`s running mate and a former Governor of Anambra, who also featured at the town hall meeting, said Atiku had the capacity to address the country`s growing unemployment statistics.
“If you look at his cumulative experience, his age notwithstanding, you will agree with me that he had what it will take to address the country`s developmental challenges,“ he said.
Obi also refuted allegations that as governor of Anambra, he used his position to register a company with most of his family members as shareholders, saying he left large sums of money in the state account at the end of his tenure.
The platform provided an opportunity for the studio audience which included Civil Society Organisations, Diplomatic Corps and some members of the general public who had applied online to directly interact with the presidential candidate and his running mate.
The event was also streamed online at www.dtv.media to enable Nigerians in the diaspora and those not near television screens to participate. (NAN)
