Posted by By Emmanuel Aziken on
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar yesterday stoked the feud between him and the President by saying that late General Sani Abacha is a saint compared to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
ABUJA - Vice-President Atiku Abubakar yesterday stoked the feud between him and the President by saying that late General Sani Abacha is a saint compared to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In a statement of caution to a group of visiting United States editors who met with the President last Thursday, the Vice-President linked the President to an ongoing oil scandal presently rocking Jamaica on account of Nigerian oil being traded on the spot market through Jamaica. The statement issued by the Atiku Campaign Organisation last night, charged the United States lobby firm, Good Works International which according to the statement receives $100,000 (N12.6 million) as fees for laundering the President's image in the U.S, as facilitators of the visit by the American journalists.
The statement titled 'Beware of lies and hypocrisy'', the Vice-President's campaign noted that Atiku had variously submitted himself to scrutiny and only found wanting for authorising the deposit of the funds of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) into an interest bearing account. The Vice-President further noted that the President has on his part refused to submit himself to such scrutiny.
'The same cannot be said of Obasanjo, a man so corrupt that Abacha will look like a saint before him. We believe that in the post - Obasanjo era, the media will be regaling the nation about Obasanjo loot as they do now about Abacha's stolen money.''
'It is noteworthy that while Atiku has availed himself of every available channel (placing adverts, interviews, appearing before the Senate and approaching the courts) to clear himself of false allegations by the President and his camp, Obasanjo has not been able to defend himself against charges of monumental corruption.''
Noting the accusations of corruption brought against the Vice-President by the President before the visiting American journalists, the Atiku campaign said: 'The editors, who are now being shepherded around the country by government officials and teleguided to see only one side of the feud at the Presidency. 'Their report on Nigeria will be incomplete and unbalanced if no attempt is made to speak with the Vice President and his team. We understand that the group's visit has been facilitated by Good Works International, a US based lobbying firm which earns $100,000 a month for laundering President Olusegun Obasanjo's image in the USA and is campaigning for a Nobel Peace Prize for the President.'' 'Good Works International recently organized Femi Fani Kayode's visit to the US where he squandered $4,000 a night in a Presidential Suite. The lobbying firm organized the fund-raising for Obasanjo's Presidential Library in Abeokuta where billions were extorted from businessmen, government agencies and private companies.''
'Good Works International has also been cited in the controversial sale of Nigerian Oil to Jamaica , which the Caribbean nation in turn sells in the spot market. The scandal over the Nigerian oil, Good Works International and Nigeria/Jamaican leaders is at present rocking the Caribbean nation.''