Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has denied allegation by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that he and pioneer Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, betrayed him (Atiku).
The allegation was made in an interview Atiku granted Premium Times, in which he also accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of seeking life presidency.
In a statement he personally signed by him on Tuesday, El-Rufai turned the table and accused the former VP of having “a record of spewing outright lies and innuendo against my person”.
Atiku, he said, is an expert “in the dark arts of damaging other people through a campaign of lies from him and his media machine.”
Although the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is less than two years old, El-Rufai said Atiku’s attack on him is not unconnected with 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.
The governor also accused Atiku of corruption saying the former vice president cannot go to the US 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,” El-Rufai said.
