Atiku denies perpetrating corruption while serving in Customs; opens up on allegation against wife in U.S., corruption in the military

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed allegation that he used his position in the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to perpetrate acts of corruption.
Abubakar made the remark on Wednesday in Abuja at a town hall meeting organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Daria Media with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
The town hall meeting tagged: “The Candidates“is a two-hour televised series which features Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates of four leading political parties.
The parties were selected from the results of multiple polls aggregated by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).
The Customs allegation followed the controversial importation of 53 suit cases into the country in 1984 by a first class traditional ruler in the North.
Abubakar was the Customs Officer in Charge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport when the suit cases were brought into the country.
He also refuted allegations that one of his wives had a case of money laundering to face in the United States (U.S.), and could therefore, not travel abroad since the allegation.
It would be recalled that a United States Senate report had accused Atiku Abubakar of laundering over $40 million in suspicious funds into the United States between 2000 and 2008, using his fourth wife, Jennifer.
According to the report, which was written by the US Senate Sub-committee on Investigations, most of the funds were through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts.
Abubakar, in the town hall meeting, however, refuted the allegation, saying his wife had never been indicted or accused of such offence.
“My wife has not been indicted and she has not been charged, so there is no way you can hold her accountable, she has been travelling to America very often,“ he said.
The PDP presidential candidate stressed that he had the experience to ensure the development of the county and make it the envy of other nations.
According to him, the present All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has not been able to deliver on its three cardinal campaign promises in 2015, which included security, economy and fighting corruption.
He said the administration had also performed below expectations, adding that he had the business experience which he acquired over time to ensure the development of the country.
Abubakar said that he is the bridge between the future and the present, stressing that he had all it would take to get the country working again.
He also noted that there was so much bottleneck in the country`s judicial system, adding that his administration would change the narrative if he became the country`s next president.
He further said that he would introduce a judicial reform that would address the bottlenecks in the judiciary, using legislative process as was obtainable in other countries.
Abubakar, Vice President under the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, also said that if elected on February 16, he would sustain the fight against corruption.
Abubakar had a fractured relationship with Obasonjo, his former boss, but had to mend fences with him after he won the PDP ticket to fly the party`s flag in the coming election slated.

Mr Peter Obi, Abubakar`s running mate and a former Governor of Anambra State, who also featured at the town hall meeting, said Atiku had the capacity to address the country`s growing unemployment statistics.
“If you look at his cumulative experience, his age notwithstanding, you will agree with me that he had  what it will take to address the country`s developmental challenges,“ he said.
Obi also refuted allegations that as governor of Anambra, he used his position to register a company with most of his family members as shareholders, saying he left large sums of money in the state account at the end of his tenure.
The platform provided an opportunity for the studio audience which included Civil Society Organisations, Diplomatic Corps and some members of the general public who had applied online to directly interact with the presidential candidate and his running mate.
The event was also streamed online at www.dtv.media to enable Nigerians in the diaspora and those not near television screens to participate.
Atiku also said that his government would be willing to investigate the military hierarchy as a way of tackling the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, if elected.
He said that his government would not hesitate to deal with any senior officer who failed in his duty after being adequately funded by his government.
“We cannot continue to accept that kind of situation whereby commanders lose lives, lose equipment to terrorists and then nothing happens to them,’’ he said.
The PDP presidential also said that he would be willing to investigate the report of Amnesty International indicting the military on allegations of genocide.
He stressed the need for government to invest more in education and health sectors as well as to bring in more private investors to compliment governments programmes in the health sector.
He said that if re-elected he would resend a bill to the National Assembly to prosecute any government at any level that managed education funds.
Asked if he would accept the outcome of the forthcoming presidential election if he lost, Abubakar said “that why not, if the election is credible?”
On the issue of farmers and herdsmen clashes, Abubakar said there was need to enlighten the herders on feeding lots.
“There is need for extensive public sensitisation of these herders to adopt this solution to minimize this crisis,’’ adding that this would not only reduce the crises, as it would also increase their income.
On the allegation that he paid less tax, Abubakar said what he paid was his personal income tax, while his companies paid their taxes also to government.
He added that there may be mistake in the privatisation done under his eight years when he was vice president “but the programme was a success.’’
Atiku also vowed to address growing unemployment in the country.
He said Nigeria needed a pro business and private sector-driven leadership to create jobs for its 21 million unemployed youths.
According to him, one of our major plans is to create jobs in the agriculture sector which has the largest capacity for job creation in the country.
Atiku said as an individual, he lifted 45,000 families out of poverty in Adamawa State by establishing a Micro Finance Bank with technical support from Bangladesh.
On corruption allegations against him, Atiku said he is the most investigated public officer in the country who had never been found wanting.