Atiku promises to fight corruption more vigorously than Buhari adding that he has never stolen one kobo

FORMER vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has stepped up his campaign to aspire for the presidency come 2019 by promising that he will do more than incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari to stamp out corruption if elected into office.

Between 1999 and 2007, Alhaji Atiku served as Nigeria's vice president in the Obasanjo administration but since he left office, he has been accused of corruption. Hitting back at his critics, the former vice president has challenged those he described as his self-righteous political enemies to either prove his alleged corrupt activities or keep quiet.

Alhaji Abubakar said: “It is sickening to continue to regurgitate allegations of corruption against me by people who have failed to come forward with a single shred of evidence of my misconduct while in office. People who are bereft of ideas about entrepreneurial spirit always think that everyone else is a thief just like them.” 

He added that he would fight corruption like never before if he is given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of the country. Alhaji Abubakar noted that people who lacked initiative, personal resourcefulness and ideas about wealth creation, always assume that a man cannot build himself without stealing.

According to the former vice president,  it was morally offensive for people who despise honest labour to become judges in the courts of public opinion. He explained that although he had not been convicted of corruption by any court in the land or elsewhere, his political enemies had been parading a fake morality to fool gullible Nigerians.

“Despite previous desperate efforts to link me with corruption, the William Jefferson trial in the United States ended in 2009 without indicting me or linking me to corrupt activities. If Atiku is a thief merely because of his resourcefulness and successful investments, my political enemies should tell Nigerians the sources of their own stupendous wealth.” Alhaji Atiku Abubakar added.

Atiku recalled that he had pasted a reminder on his bed side during his training as a Customs officer that he would retire from any agency if he had not attained the headship of the place at the age of 40. He said that he was only able to attain the position of a deputy director before his exit in 1989 to chart a career in business, pointing out that he retired from the Nigeria Customs Service with an unblemished record.

He challenged anybody who had evidence that he stole a kobo at the Customs or during his tenure as vice-president to confront him with evidence or  file a petition against him. Furthermore, Atiku said he did not become vice president in 1999 as a pauper because he had been a successful investor throughout his retirement life.

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said he was well equipped to fight corruption because of his vast experiences both in the public and private sectors and his ability to build a team capable of accomplishing the task. He added that he will shock everyone because he believes that he will fight corruption like never before.