A member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Kassim Afegbua on Sunday urged the United States of America government to
commence the process of inviting another member of his party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to the United States to face allegations of corruption levelled against him.
In a statement in Abuja, Afegbua urged the United States Government not to sweep such weighty allegations under the carpet. He also urged Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to visit the United States of America to resolve the lingering corruption allegations which he said led Senator Jefferson to jail.
In the statement titled: “Financial Impropriety: Afegbua Wants Atiku Abubakar Prosecuted”, Afegbua said: ‘’Rather than seek election under the umbrella of the PDP in 2023, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will do well to visit the United States of America to resolve his lingering corruption allegations which have led Senator Jefferson to jail. The outcome of an investigation against him and his “former” wife Jennifer revealed a lot of underhand transactions bordering on money laundering and other financial malfeasance.
“The onerous thing to do was for him to visit the United States of America to answer to those weighty allegations which were the outcome of the comprehensive investigations carried out by the United States Congress’’.
He also urged the United States government to treat the matter once and for all, by way of calling for the extradition of the former Vice-President to answer those lingering queries on financial impropriety.
‘’In the 2019 presidential campaigns, we were inundated with several news reports, demanding that our party candidate should visit America. When the request became so compelling, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was reportedly granted a waiver by the United States Consular Office in Lagos to enable him to visit the United States with the then Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki.
“After that visit till date, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has not been able to visit America again ostensibly on the stretch of those weighty allegations which have not been dispensed with. The entire report of the US Congress copiously indicted Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on issues concerning money laundering. It will make judicious sense if the United States government can treat this pending matter once and for all, by way of extraditing the former Vice President to answer those lingering queries on financial impropriety’’.
Afegbua further said thag:‘’The knowledge I acquired would come to nothing if I choose to look the other way when I should be raising queries about the propriety and or otherwise of his presidential aspiration. The report of the United States Congress on the investigation is too damning to be ignored,
“if we truly want to sustain the ethics of transparent leadership and positive governance. I am, therefore, calling on the United States government to commence the process of inviting Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to the United States to face those charges without further delay.
Afegbua also urged the United States of America to take deliberate steps to help Nigeria grow her anti-corruption initiative, deepen her democracy and provide the opportunity for a robust economy that will benefit the majority and not a select and privileged few
