Atiku and Bukola Saraki on arrival in Washington DC
The United States Bureau of African Affairs (AF) has disclosed that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was listed as an aide of Senate President Bukola Saraki.
In a tweet by Lauretta Onochie, a media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Bureau of African Affairs which is part of the US Department of State and which is charged with advising the Secretary of State on matters of Sub-Saharan Africa said he was in Washington DC on diplomatic arrangements.
“We cannot apprehend Atiku because of our diplomatic ties with Nigeria, he’s being booked as an ‘aide’ to Nigeria’s Senate President,” AF said.
It would be recalled that Atiku who for 12 years was unable to enter the US following corruption indictment against him, arrived Washington on Thursday in company of Nigeria’s Senate President Bukola Saraki.
He is staying at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC and is expected to attend several meetings with Nigerians in Diaspora.
In a 2010 report titled “Keeping Foreign Corruption Out Of The United States” the United States Senate PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chaired by Carl Levin named Atiku as one of four Politically Exposed Persons, PEP, to watch out for.
The subcommittee report narrated how Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, a US citizen and fourth wife of Atiku between 2000 to 2008 helped her husband bring over $40 million in suspect funds into the United States, including at least $1.7 million in bribe payments from Siemens AG, a German corporation, and over $38 million from little known offshore corporations, primarily LetsGo Ltd. Inc., Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., and Sima Holding Ltd.
“Over half of the suspect funds, nearly $25 million, were wire transferred by the offshore corporations into US bank accounts opened by Ms. Douglas,” the committee report read.
“For most of the time period examined, the US banks with those accounts were unaware of Ms. Douglas’ PEP status and allowed multiple large wire transfers into her accounts from the offshore corporations.
“As, over time, each of the banks began to question the wire transfers into her accounts, Ms. Douglas indicated that all of the funds came from her husband and professed little familiarity with the offshore corporations actually sending her money,” the report added.
“Bank records indicate that Ms. Douglas used most of the funds placed into her accounts to support a lavish lifestyle in the United States, paying credit card bills and household expenses in the range of $10,000 to $90,000 per month, including substantial legal and accounting bills.
“She also transferred funds to accounts she opened for the Gede Foundation, a nonprofit corporation she established in 2002, and the American University of Nigeria (AUN), a university that Mr. Abubakar founded in 2003, and whose name reflects its association with American University in the United States.”
“An additional $14 million of the suspect funds were wire transferred by two of the offshore corporations, LetsGo and the Guernsey Trust Company, to American University to pay for consulting fees related to AUN.
“American University officials told the Subcommittee that they understood the funds came from Mr. Abubakar and never inquired why the wire transfers were sent by unfamiliar offshore corporations.
“At least another $2.1 million was wire transferred by the Guernsey Trust Corporation to accounts controlled by Edward Weidenfeld, a US lawyer who provided legal services to Ms. Douglas, Mr. Abubakar, and AUN.
“Mr. Weidenfeld explained that the funds paid for the Abubakars’ legal expenses and an account set up for AUN, and that he had assumed the funds came from Mr. Abubakar.”
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I have refrained from commenting on some of these posts for obvious reasons. I make bold to say I will chip in something here because this is my territory: international relations and diplomacy. First of all, what is the mission of Saraki to US? None. Has anything been listed as the official reason the Nigerian Senate President travelled to the US? No. So how come he has a diplomatic entourage that supposedly included Atiku?
On the hand, has anything been listed as the mission of Atiku to the US? Yes. Apart from meeting with the Nigerian community and the business community, he is scheduled to meet with top officials of the Trump administration to explain his economic blueprint for Nigeria. Even the US government has confirmed this. How can a reasonable fellow then suggest Atiku went to the US as part of Saraki’s delegation, when he has all these activities lined up for him. The author of this piece and several others I have read on social media from supporters of this government are only unable to comprehend how possible it was for Atiku to travel to the US after boasting he would be arrested once he stepped into that country.
Now, on the major issue of Atiku not arrested because he is on Saraki’s delegation, this exposes the ignorance of the author of this piece on the workings of international diplomacy. If a politically exposed person or any other person for that matter is declared wanted in another country, once he steps into that country, he will be arrested, irrespective of who is bringing him or her. To start with, in diplomatic circles, the list of the delegation or entourage would first be submitted to the host country’s embassy in Nigeria for screening. The idea behind this is to weed out the name of any person who has been declared persona non grata in the host country. If such a person dares to step into that country, he would be picked up right from the airport on landing.
If Atiku was actually wanted in the US, he couldn’t have dared to enter that country under any circumstance without first clearing his name from the wanted list. This is usually done in high level diplomatic negotiations and trade-offs, especially when the country in question has bigger interest in the person concerned.
If this is what transpired between Atiku and the US government, then there is every reason for the APC and its supporters to develop goose pimples as they are doing now, given that this is happening just a month to the presidential election.
Your arguments are useless.
Saraki travels with his aides under diplomatic cover as Senate president that all. Atiku is not meeting with any Trump high officials, the whole visit is a farce to hoodwink Nigerians.
Ridiculous, explain his economic plan to the American government, while he has not explain it to Nigerians who are going cast the votes. Is Nigeria a State in the US? Not even the US governors does or the obligations to do that.
All of you pretend to be learned by writing English, but your awareness level is dismal.
The excuse rendered here that Atiku gained entry into the US as an aide to Saraki is fake news. We all know that if he was wanted in the US, the Americans would have arrested him. By simply asking the APC led hostile Buhari government to withdraw any diplomatic passport that Atiku was using to travel that would have allowed the US arrest him legally. This story is full of untruths and half truths designed to cover a lie. The truth of the matter is that the US considers the APC government led by Buhari as anti democratic and inimical to the economic prosperity of Nigeria.
Well, it is beginning to show that our people are desperate to rule. A candidate suddenly turn to aid. Highly uncalled for
What lesson from all of this? It is time Nigerians grow their own political party/culture. We must stop following these fat cats who stole our inheritance to set up political parties and then bribe us with peanuts into voting for them. At the moment, we are in a jam again, pitched between reelecting a serial promise breaking APC and its clannish leader and a suspect PDP led by its equally questionable leadership. Time to focus attention on others. There is Sowore, Ezekwesili, Moghalu etc each with their track record. Nigerians should encourage and give them hope to carry on by voting for them as an alternative. They may not win, but voting for them will be a spur to keep them trying. We cannot continue doing the same thing since1960 while expecting different results. Time to start is now.
Very good Atiku. That is intelligent cat and mouth legalized battle. We want president with strategies to achieve goal, vision and purpose. An aide to senate president held talks with American congress? And that Aide is a presidential candidate back home? Super, he must be intelligent and strategist too. Pls everybody cast your vote for the ‘aide presidential candidate’
@Ibrahim S Jarfa. a big SHAME.
We know their antics also under the cover of government shutdown going in in US but fortunately American votes does not count in Nigeria, we the voters are here with our pic we shall determine our fate come 16th if Feb 2019, no vote for crooks.
Any government that thrives on lies and propaganda would never be successful.
It’s unimaginable that federal government of Nigeria would dwelling on frivolity and triviality.
The electorates desire issues based campaign rather than this lowest level of incompetence and profligacy.
What a belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious rhetoric. What a government. What a needless Change. What a HUGE Mistake. Nonsense.
B. Kashamu has a case pendinh in Us and they tried to have him sent to US for trial. MADUEKE, exFM is wanted in Nigeria for alleged money laundry and PMB’S government is seeking her extradition to Naija. So why did the US govt only simply deny Atiku a visa? If there was substance to the alleged case against Atiku, why did they not grant him a visa and just wait for him to land in US and then grab all this time. This is a poser to Bar FKeyamo,SAN