US $1.2m lobbyists: ‘You’ll be rotting in jail if you were Chinese’ – Presidency hits Atiku

The Presidency on Thursday declared that if the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar should be rotting in jail if he were to a Chinese man.

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga was reacting to Atiku’s alleged usage of $1.2 million to engage American lobbyists to petition the United States, US, President Donald Trump and the US State Department concerning a 1993 civil forfeiture case linked to Tinubu.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Onanuga, described the move as inappropriate and an attempt to externalise Nigeria’s domestic politics.

According to the statement titled: “When Atiku Abubakar Report himself to President Trump,” Onanuga said: “Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s relentless desire to become President of Nigeria has regrettably closed his eyes to the virtues of statesmanship, decorum, and propriety expected of an elder statesman. Instead of embracing the dignity and maturity that come with his standing, he continues to diminish himself through reckless public statements and desperate political manoeuvres.

“It is baffling and disappointing that someone who has sought the presidency for over three decades now resorts to reporting the President of Nigeria to US President Donald Trump and members of the US Congress. In his latest act, Atiku Abubakar’s lobbying group in the US has submitted petitions to President Trump and the US State Department regarding a civil forfeiture case from 1993—a matter long settled, with no criminal conviction or finding of guilt.

“This issue was resolved over 30 years ago in the United States and has been thoroughly litigated, explained, and rendered moot by the electoral mandates conferred on President Bola Tinubu by the people of Lagos and Nigeria at large. Reviving this matter today is an affront to the intelligence of Nigerians and an attempt to rewrite history for personal gain.

“It is important to remind Atiku and his associates that Nigeria is a sovereign nation, not a satellite of any foreign power. Reporting the President of Nigeria to another country’s leader is not only inappropriate but also undermines the nation’s dignity and independence. Such actions are incongruous with the responsibilities of a statesman and are ultimately self-defeating.

“If Atiku has chosen to disregard his own sense of self-respect and self-worth, he should, at the very least, show respect for the country he aspires to lead and the office he so ardently seeks. While lobbying is a legitimate part of American politics, employing paid foreign agents to peddle discredited documents against a sitting Nigerian President is not advocacy—it is an attempt to externalise domestic politics and undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty. Nigerians resolved this matter at the ballot in February 2023 and in the Supreme Court. That verdict stands, and Atiku’s latest fishing expedition would amount to nought.

“Furthermore, if Atiku Abubakar can spend $1.2 million on American lobbyists to report President Tinubu, perhaps he should also clarify his own legal standing in the United States. He featured most prominently in the William Jefferson bribery scandal, a matter which saw the American congressman jailed.

“Atiku, along with his former wife Jennifer Douglas, was one of the subjects of an elaborate US Senate Investigation, “Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories”. The report of the investigation, chaired by Senator Carl Levin, was released in February 2010. It documented how Atiku used offshore companies to bring suspect funds, including bribes from multinationals, running into millions of dollars, into the United States.

“A man with such a dismal record as a public servant certainly has no business asking for our votes. Indeed, if Atiku Abubakar were a Chinese, he would be rotting away in jail for his crimes against the Nigerian people.”

US $1.2m lobbyists: ‘You’ll be rotting in jail if you were Chinese’ – Presidency hits Atiku