El-Rufai Blasts Atiku: “You Are A Liar, I Dare You To Go To U.S.”

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has
responded to former Vice President Atiku
Abubakar’s allegation that he (Atiku) was betrayed
by the governor and former chairman of the EFCC,
Nuhu Ribadu.
PREMIUM TIMES published excerpts of an interview
where the former vice president made the
allegations.
In a statement he personally signed Tuesday, Mr. El
Rufai accused the former VP of falsehood.
He said Mr. Abubakar “has a record of spewing
outright lies and innuendo against my person”.
“As we struggle to build a law-abiding society and
secure progressive outcomes for our people, we
cannot allow the triumph on these shores of those
who will have us move to a post-factual world,” he
said.
The Kaduna governor said not even Mr. Abubakar’s
expertise “in the dark arts of damaging other people
through a campaign of lies from him and his media
machine” is capable of returning the country to its
past.
Mr. El-Rufai said contrary to the postulation by Mr.
Abubakar, he never had anything to do with the
incorporation of Transcorp.
“Those that established that company and fronted it
like Festus Odimegwu, Tony Elumelu, Otunba Lawal
Solarin and Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke are still around and
alive.
“As such I could not have and did not offer Alhaji
Atiku any shares in Transcorp. I declined the shares
that were offered to me. Having done that, how
could I have offered anyone shares?,” he said.
The governor said he even advised the then
President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Abubakar, and
then finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, not to
accept the shares they were offered by the
promoters of Transcorp.
“My counsel to them was based on the grounds that
they would face conflicts of interest when Transcorp
bids for privatization assets.
“At the time Alhaji Atiku and Ngozi were chair and
vice-chair of the National Council on Privatization,
and were particularly directly involved in approving
the sales of state-owned enterprises and assets.
“It is too late in the day to try to pretend that the
fiasco concerning the attempt by then Senators
Ibrahim Mantu and Jonathan Zwingina to extort
money from me for Senate clearance never
happened.
“All Alhaji Atiku has just done is confirm that he paid
the Senators, as I revealed in Page 139 of my book,”
he said.
He also said when he published The Accidental
Public Servant in 2013, Mr. Abubakar unleashed his
media team in a campaign of vilification.
“Despite the viciousness of the attacks, they did not
contest or explain away his shenanigans that were
detailed in the book, from the Ericsson manoeuvre,
to the Abuja water treatment plant contract and his
obsession with marabouts and their assurances of
the political big prize.
“He might also consider a full reckoning for what he
and his acolytes did with public funds in the PTDF
imbroglio, rather than indulging the usual bold face
of the Nigerian big-man.
“As a federal public servant, my oath of allegiance
appropriately stood with the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, not the big men whose conduct I was
privileged to witness at close quarters.
“People like Alhaji Atiku think that loyalty to them
should be the goal of a public officer, and that it
should trump the oath of allegiance to the country.
Although Mr. El-Rufai and the former vice president
are both members of the APC, Nigeria’s ruling party,
the Kaduna governor hinted that their public spat
may be a battle for the party’s presidential ticket in
2019.
“Alhaji Atiku is already running for 2019, and he
thinks that he can make people like us collateral
damage in his attempt to rejuvenate his image,” the
governor said.
“This obsession for power inclined him to support
the rebellion against the party that manifested in the
National Assembly, and is continuing with obvious
disrespect for the incumbent president.
“Everyone knows that I support and will continue to
work for the success of President Muhammadu
Buhari as he leads our country through tough times,”
he said.
While Mr. Abubakar has not publicly indicated any
interest to run for president in 2019, several
Nigerians believe he would be Mr. Buhari’s main
opponent should the president seek a second term in
office.
However, there have also been reports that Mr. El-
Rufai is scheming to be the party’s presidential
candidate in 2019 should Mr. Buhari decide not to
seek re-election. Mr. El-Rufai did not comment on
that rumour in his Friday statement.
The governor also accused Mr. Abubakar of
corruption saying the former vice president has not
gone to the U.S. for fear of being arrested.
“Can Alhaji Atiku explain the findings in the report of
the United States Senate Permanent Sub-Committee
on Investigations which detailed a pattern of wire
transfers of more than USD 40 million from offshore
companies like Siemens into bank accounts
controlled by him and one of his wives.
“The report detailing the US Senate findings is
online, as one of four case histories of foreign
corruption in the USA. Alhaji Atiku should tell a
better tale of why he is avoiding the United States
of America.
“Someone as obsessed with Nigeria’s presidency as
he is, should clear up such matters conclusively. We
wait to see how well he does with that,” Mr. El-Rufai
said.

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