The Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar have been issued US Visa by the United States government.
This was confirmed by TheCable through a family member on Saturday, 1st December as Atiku Abubakar left with his jet to the US.
Atiku over some weeks now have been written badly on this restriction on various platforms.
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, on Thursday, 29th November warned the US to be cautious in granting visa to the main opponent of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 General Elections.
Playing a critical role on this achievement was the Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who news says have been negotiating with the US goverment.
The trip marks another chapter in the controversy that has rocked the former vice-president for over a decade.
His row with the US authorities began after the FBI investigated a bribery scandal involving William Jefferson, former US congressman, in 2004.
Atiku was accused of demanding a bribe of $500,000 to facilitate the award of contracts to two American telecommunication firms in Nigeria.
The FBI had searched his residence at Potomac, Maryland, but no money was found.
The investigators had videotaped Jefferson, who was the congressman representing Louisiana, receiving $100,000 worth of $100 bills which he claimed was meant for Atiku, but the former vice-president has consistently denied the allegation.
Despite Atiku’s claim to innocence, the controversy raged.
Two months before he declared interest in the 2019 presidential race, Atiku granted an interview to Dele Mommodu, celebrity journalist, where he clarified his absence from the US.
He said:
“It is the sole prerogative of America to determine who they want in their country or not,” he said.
“I’m not running away from America. I applied but wasn’t issued a visa.”
He said the US did not categorically deny him visa.
“They’ve only said my application is going through administrative process,” he said.
If Atiku become the President of Nigeria, one relationship he will need to keep is that of the United States and Visa should not be part of it.
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