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Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the claim that President Olusegun Obasanjo borrowed N2 billion to reactivate his now flourishing Temperance Farms as a laughable and childish lie that is akin to the futile use of the palm to cover the sun.
Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the claim that President Olusegun Obasanjo borrowed N2 billion to reactivate his now flourishing Temperance Farms as a laughable and childish lie that is akin to the futile use of the palm to cover the sun.
The Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organization, in a statement on Monday, said the fact that the loan was itself supplicated only about six months ago meant that the president cannot explain the geometrical expansion of the Ota Farm alone, much less the five other multi-billion naira farms he established in six states.
Besides, the organization said that the monumental transformation of Obasanjo farms predated the N2billion the president collected from banks.
Presidential spokesperson, Uba Sani, had said, at the weekend, that Obasanjo took a N2 billion loan from four banks to fund the reactivation of Obasanjo farms in response to the Atiku Campaign Organization's challenge, last week, that Obasanjo tell Nigerians how he transformed from a man of N20,000 savings in 1999 to the new owner of a flourishing group of farms spread across the country.
Reacting to Sani's position on Monday, the Atiku camp further charged Obasanjo to tell Nigerians how he raised the collateral to borrow the N2 billion he admitted to have taken to reactivate the moribund Obasanjo farms.
"The explanation of Uba Sani has only further exposed the duplicity of General Obasanjo. General Obasanjo should tell Nigerians how a farm, which was moribund in 1999 and had to be bailed out of impending liquidation, became so rich to generate the collateral for a N2 billion loan," the group said, adding: "Everyone conversant with the banking system knows that you need collateral of about N6 billion to raise a N2billion loan. President Obasanjo should tell Nigerians how he transformed from a man, who his closest minister said had less than N20, 000 in his account in 1999, to someone who now has N6 billion collateral to take a N2 billion loan.
"We are however, hopeful that President Obasanjo will be honest enough to tell Nigerians what date he took the loan, on what conditions and with what collateral. Were these loan advances without his knowledge as was the case with the loan he purportedly collected from UBA to buy the 200 million shares in Transcorp?
"Nigerians will be glad to know if President Obasanjo solely took N2 billion loan from the N50 billion agriculture fund facilitated by the Federal Government when there are millions of Nigerian farmers who should access the loan, but have been crying for access since the introduction of the loan last year. If President Obasanjo collected N2 billion from N50 billion agriculture fund approved by his government, does this portend conflict of interest or corruption? These are the questions President Obasanjo should answer to rescue his sagging integrity," the Atiku camp said.
The camp also noted that in spite of spirited attempt to confuse Nigerians about the issue of corruption, the president had been silent on the issue of the N700 million cheque he paid into the account of Mofas Shipping Line.
"Where was this one borrowed from? Or was the N700 million sourced from the N2 billion agriculture loan?", it queried, adding: "We restate our challenge: President Obasanjo should tell Nigerians how he was transformed from a man of N20,000 savings to such a wealthy man who could issue a single cheque of N700 million. Where did the money come from? What was the money meant for since he has claimed ignorance of the Mofas account? What is the source of the staggering wealth with which he now routinely showers car gifts on women?
"This is one question among many others General Obasanjo should answer if he is truly above board and will not go down as the most corrupt leader Nigeria ever produced. We invite him to answer the following posers:
•If the president is truly fighting corruption, why has he been reluctant to take action on the N83 billion embezzled in the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) under the chairmanship of Navy Commodore Olabode George, now the director general of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, which was uncovered by his own EFCC?
•If President Obasanjo is truly fighting corruption, why has he not investigated why Nigerians still work and live in darkness after sinking over N1trillion on PHCN (a.k.a NEPA)?
•When did Obasanjo start fighting corruption? Is it after the Ministry of Energy (formerly petroleum), which he personally supervised for seven years and in the view of many, a cesspit of corruption where, after over $300 million investment, there is no single refinery functioning?
•Did Obasanjo start fighting corruption before or after the use of the presidential jet by his aide to smuggle $170,000 into the United States and the use of $55,000 of the smuggled money to import farm equipment for Obasanjo farms?
•Did the president's war against corruption begin after some top government officials allegedly cleaned the public treasury of a princely sum of N30billion kick-back from the debt-buy back initiative?
"President Obasanjo, in his recent pronouncements has tried to divert public attention from these questions by claiming to have jailed or removed some people from office on account of corruption. The question is: Does fighting corruption confer a privilege of impunity on anyone to engage in monumental corruption?
"If the President is sincerely fighting against corruption, would it matter to him to investigate the more that N300 billion wasted on federal roads without anything to show; the fraud, rigging, gerrymandering and molestation that characterised the primaries in his own party, the PDP?; the commandeering of INEC Direct Capture Machines by chieftains of his own party, used at their homes for the register of ghost voters?," the Atiku group queried.