[FILE PHOTO] Former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, former Nigerian vice president and the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party Atiku Abubakar and the director-general of his campaign organisation and former governor of Ogun State Gbenga Daniel on Friday, October 12, 2018. PHOTO: ATIKU CAMPAIGN ORGANISATION
Director General of the Atiku campaign organisation, Gbenga Daniel, has said officials of the United States (US) have been calling on the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to apply for his American visa.
Daniel, a former governor of Ogun state said this in an interview on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, on Wednesday.
”I can also confirm to you that in last few days that there have been signals from the American officials that he (Atiku) should indeed come forward so he can be granted the visa. So between you and I, all the issues are perception,” Daniel said.
Abubakar was alleged to have been boycotting travel to the US due to allegations of financial impropriety levelled against him, especially in the aftermath of a U.S. congressional report which probed his numerous international financial dealings.
His purported travel restriction to the US has been cited by Nigeria’s ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) as an evidence of their allegations that Abubakar, who is vying for the office of the president against President Muhammadu Buhari, is a corrupt person.
Although the PDP has debunked APC’s claims, Daniel said he is free to apply for a visa to the US.
Daniel noted that the perception of Abubakar as a corrupt person was politically motivated.
“Well, my opinion is that the issue appears to have been over-flogged. I remember when we were running the campaign in the primaries and everybody kept confronting us on this perception and we brought it out in the open that indeed it is no more than perception, politically motivated perception which unfortunately appears not to have stopped.”
“By and large, I think as we move toward the real issues, people would just realise that this is just politically motivated issues. I have repeatedly said that this is not the Banana Republic. Nigeria as a people, we know our weaknesses, anything that is negative about our leaders, we are ready to believe it.”
”But until when (corruption) charges are pressed, as far as we are concerned, there are no issues there. If you look at the newspapers in the last few days, we have re
