Another round of general elections is due in Nigeria, early next year – 2007. Nigeria, being a nation of over 150 million people, and Africa’s most populous nation, always has ripples and gymnastics, as I would like to describe the events that are unfolding.
Vice President Atiku Abubakar
Accusations have been that the Vice President is corrupt, and should not be allowed to stand as president in next year’s election. Gbenga Obasanjo (President Obasanjo’s son) accused him, as did the President himself. Several such accusations have been floating secretly, and openly.
As at today, Atiku Abubakar has been suspended from the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), for three months, over corruption allegations.
According to the Wikipedia:
On September 18, 2006, Atiku was indicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which alleged that he had embezzeled ₦ 71,123,250,000 in campaign funds and made various bribes.
According to ThisDay (a leading daily newspaper in Nigeria): PTDF: Forensic Investigation Indicts Atiku
•VP alleges misappropriation of $555m •Ribadu: His blackmail won’t work
Contrary to Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s claim that his indictment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Government Administrative Panel of Inquiry is a premeditated political action intended to halt his presidential ambition, the report of a forensic investigation into the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has said that he is culpable for the mismanagement of the fund.
The report obtained by THISDAY yesterday entitled: The Report of the Special Audit/Forensic Investigation of Petroleum Technology Devel-opment Fund (PTDF) From 1999 to May 31, 2006, it submitted that the Vice President’s approval for the release of $20m from the treasury and subsequent placement in Trans International Bank without appropriation and approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was improper and amounted to abuse of office.
According to BBC News: Nigeria vice-president suspended
Mr Abubakar will remain vice-president but his suspension means he will not be eligible to seek the ruling PDP’s presidential nomination.
The simple question that comes to mind is, where was President Obasanjo, the Senate and PDP since 1999. Is it now that 2007 is around the corner that we all suddenly realized that the Vice President is corrupt? I am not, and will not support the VP but whatever is worth doing, is worth doing on time.
I perfectly agree with Chippla:
The upper house of the Nigerian legislature—the Senate—finally decided to probe both Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar for corrupt practices with regard to funds allocated for petroleum technology development. Should both men be found guilty (which would most likely be the case) they should both be impeached. Anything short of that would be a waste of time, a waste of public funds, an insult to people who work hard day and night in Nigeria in order to make a living, and a sanctioning of the presence of miscreants in what ought to be respectable political offices in Nigeria.
As for this statement here, don’t quote me. Quote Orikinla Osinachi of “Nigerian times”:
President Olusegun Obasanjo has always been a spoiler from his village to the State House. And he wants to discredit his deputy to truncate the Presidential ambition of Vice President Atiku Abubakar. But as we all know that the kettle cannot call the pot black.
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I don’t find it all that surprising. They’ve been at loggerheads with each other for the longest. Both of them are corrupt in some sense, most likely. But OBJ’s really asking for impeachment, considering that he’s taken advantage of his oh-so-presidential position in a vindictive and offensive manner, not only against Atiku but also against journalists and news broadcasters.
Obviously, someone needs to be cut down to a much-more-befitting size.
And I’d rather for Atiku to take office rather than yet another military nut with a superiority complex. Hell, maybe Odili!
Yes, Obasanjo is equally corrupt. Too bad he is presently at the helm of affairs, and by Nigerian standards that means he is presently untouchable. We have to start from somewhere anyway, the Atiku investigation seem to be a good place to start, and I hope Obasanjo will get his in due time. God bless our dear country
[...] Oloniyi David Ajao writes about corruption in high places in Nigeria, “Accusations have been that the Vice President is corrupt, and should not be allowed to stand as president in next year’s election. Gbenga Obasanjo (President Obasanjo’s son) accused him, as did the President himself. Several such accusations have been floating secretly, and openly. As at today, Atiku Abubakar has been suspended from the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), for three months, over corruption allegations.” [...]
[...] The facesoff between the president and his deputy has reached a crescendo, where all forms of allegations and accusations are been tendered by the day. It appears the attack hounds of each camp spend their nights brainstorming on strategies and spins to use for the next day. Nigerians, have heard tales of financial sleaze, now its murder allegation!: “Elements suspected to be loyal to the vice president have become even more desperate, this time threatening the lives of some ministers,” the president’s spokesman Uba Sani said in a statement released to Reuters on Friday. [...]
OBASANJO is the most currupt citizen in the country, he uses EFCC boss to probe or even arrest any body who has a counter view on any of his dictating ideologies.
“Accusations have been that the Vice President is corrupt, and should not be allowed to stand as president in next year’s election. Gbenga Obasanjo (President Obasanjo’s son) accused him, as did the President himself”.
Atiku Abubakar is a great hero, who has been loyal to his boss through out the first tenure, but because the president want to impose, as a PDP flag bearer, some body he will be able to remotely control, right from the OTA farms, even if ellected as the nations’ next president, of which he believes Atiku can not be, then he started to enbark in sowing the seeds of distablisation bettween him and the vice. This of cause would lead to (as it happened) stampeding the candidature of Atiku, consequently, endorsing his famous choice, Yar’adua.
The controversies surrounding VP Atiku Abubakar are to grievious, we cannot sit back and watch such parson emerge as the next president of thie great country.
Honestly, yo all Nigerian. Both Abubakar and Obasanjo are both corrupt. come to think of it Atiku abubakar wants Nigerians to vote for him while he has enjoyed the bread and butter of the ruling party.
Plus if he is a man, honesty like he claimed. he should just forget about his politcal career now and make sure the present goverment is exposed. he has the power to do that while he was abroad.
But instead he was just crying for his political gain. Beleive it or not i will rather have Yardua there than to have selfish Atiku has next president of Nigeria.
A word for him. Help Nigeria not your political gain Mr. VP.
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I keep hearing that Atiku is corrupt. It may sound good to his detractors yet I have not heard anybody tell Nigeria what he did as VP to merit such labelling. You bring- 10 Nigerians together and ask them at gun point, mention one or two actions that amount to corruption as the VP is labelled. the sad truth is that they may loose their lives because it does not exist. Sadly if a thief runs out of a house after stealing and starts shouting and pointing ahead of himself as he fleas the scene of the crime -catch am na thief- unfortunately people will be looking in the direction the thief was pointing at and not to him the thief.
I am reminded of an old lady saying -My mind is made up dont confuse me with the facts-. I believe that is where most nigerians have found themselves.
What moral justification does someone who steal 700million Naira acuse the person who steal 50million Naira.
What is bad is bad.They are both thief.Am not defending Atiku but this is a case of gross misconduct on both sides.
If you ask a Primary six(6) student in public school of Nigeria what he or she wants to be,the answer is to be a Senator,Gov,President……(Politician) etc.Nigerians think of how to make money than to help the nation.
Thes guys are all thief,if they have the chance,the will empty CBN.
Baba,should keep quite.Atike should shut up.
How petty can a government get?
The news that the current Vice President of Nigeria (Atiku Abubakar) is being asked to leave his official residence within Aso Rock under the pretext of a renovation for me is the height of pettiness. How petty can a government get?
Of course, this is …
I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. THough its hard to believe there can be smoke without fire. the general perception is that he was supposedly more corrupt than Baba Himself. He has not helped matters anyway with his different actions especially with the privatisations. Now he’s strategising on coming back in 2011. Can’t say anything about the chances of that happening. Anyway there’s a mock poll we started on the subject Who Will you vote for in 2011.