Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the Buhari administration is
desperate to accuse ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo of a crime so as to
silence him.
In a statement issued on Monday, Atiku’s media
office said the inclusion of Obasanjo’s name in the list of tax
defaulters by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was to blackmail
him.
It said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
was feeding the media with falsehood to cause disaffection between
Obasanjo and his former deputy.
“The Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission is feeding members of the media with deliberate
falsehoods in an attempt to cause disaffection and bad blood between
former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy, Atiku
Abubakar, on one hand, and between former President Obasanjo and
Nigerians in general,’’ the statement read.
“For the avoidance of
doubt, Mallam Babalele Abdullahi, Atiku Abubakar’s son-in-law, did not
donate any money in cash to the Olusegun Obasanjo Library. Yes, he did
facilitate a donation of fifty million naira to the Olusegun Obasanjo
Presidential Library, but so did many other individuals, including
civic-minded traditional rulers, state Governors, bankers and captains
of industry.
“This is because the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential
Library is a non-governmental organisation that plays a pivotal role in
promoting peace and stability in Nigeria, and that should be
applauded.’’
Referring to Buhari, the media office said unlike
“another past leader, who did not improve himself or Nigeria after
leaving office, but sat down nursing grudges and plotting revenge,
former President Olusegun Obasanjo improved himself and Nigeria by
authoring books, founding international think tanks and engaging in
peace and capacity building efforts’’.
“Donations to institutions
set up to promote peace in Nigeria and Africa are to be commended, not
criminalised. Presidential libraries in America and other parts of the
world are similarly funded by donations from civic-minded individuals,’’
it said.
‘’For the avoidance of doubt, Mallam Abdullahi’s
donation of fifty million naira was made via a bank transfer, in full
compliance with the law. He did not donate or make any payment in cash,
as the EFCC is erroneously and salaciously misleading the public.
Furthermore, the sources of these funds are completely legitimate and
have been conclusively proven to the EFCC. It is instructive to note
that even the EFCC has not once claimed these funds to be the proceeds
of any illegal activity whatsoever.
“The truth is that there is
desperation on the part of the current administration to rope in former
President Olusegun Obasanjo into a crime as a way of silencing his
voice, which they see as the preeminent critical voice against the
misrule that they have foisted on Nigerians.
“This is why they
asked the Federal Inland Revenue Service to falsely and libelously
include his name in a published list of tax evaders, along with the
names of other Peoples Democratic Party sympathisers, such as prominent
international singer and pride of Nigeria, Davido, who played a
prominent role in PDP’s gubernatorial campaign in Osun state, for which
he is being punished.’’
The media office said the EFCC has become
a propaganda agency and that the presidency, APC, the EFCC, The FIRS
and The Nation ‘’are now working together as five fingers of the same
leprous hands’’.
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