Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, arrived the United States, Thursday, January 17, 2019, 12 solid years after he last stepped on an American soil.
The PDP candidate, who was accompanied on the trip by the Senate President and Director General of his campaign, Dr. Bukola Saraki, announced the visit himself via a tweet he made at 20:26GMT on Thursday.
He declared in the tweet: “Just arrived Washington D.C for meeting with US government officials, Nigerians living in D.C metropolis and the business community. –AA”
With the visit, Atiku, who had been deprived visa to the country where he once lived and owned properties, has crossed one of the most serious political hurdles on his path, and might use the ‘achievement’ as he continues his campaign ahead of the February 16, 2019 presidential vote.
However, his manifest purpose for the trip, according to his campaign headquarters, is a “meeting with American officials”, though the officials were not named, and a speaking engagement at a forum organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, had used the 12-year visa denial to Atiku to taunt him on end, pegging it on some unnamed corruption-related issues, sometimes daring the former VP to go to the United State and risk arrest.
Indeed, there were talks of a secret indictment that had supposedly been entered against Abubakar by the American authorities.
But as at the time of filing this report, there was no news of Abubakar’s arrest. The whole event may rattle the APC.
Since he left office on May 29, 2007, Abubakar, who served as Vice President to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has not visited America.
Obasanjo, Abubakar’s erstwhile boss, had dealt serious political and moral blows on him, repeatedly accusing him of monumental corruption, even while in office. But not a single charge has been filed against the former VP.
Indeed, Obasanjo was suspected to have a finger in the corruption charges filed the ex-VP in the United States. The politician has repeatedly denied all allegations of fraud.
In a press statement, Abubakar’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, revealed that the PDP candidate will also meet the Nigerian business community in the U.S. as well as with U.S. government officials.
“Yesterday, Abubakar met with the business community in Lagos at an interactive session to unveil his plans to get Nigeria working again,” Ibe announced.
“Thursday morning, he left Abuja accompanied by the Director-General of PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation and Senate President Bukola Saraki for the United States.
“Atiku Abubakar will in the course of his trip hold meetings with the U.S. government officials, the business community and the Nigerian community.”
Ibe said his boss was expected to return to the country on Saturday, Jan 19.