The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) has said that the trump-up allegation made by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, against the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is laughable and dead on arrival.
The Minister had said that Atiku has a case to answer when he returns from his present trip to the US over the collapse of Bank PHB having allegedly benefited from a slush fund to the tune of N150 million from the failed bank.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Kola Ologbondiyan Director, Media & Publicity PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, observed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s “heinous plot to frame the PDP Presidential Candidate,” is out of fear that he Atiku already coasting to victory in the February 16 Presidential election.
He said: “While we understand that President Buhari and his dysfunctional All Progressives Congress (APC) are jittery over Atiku Abubakar’s soaring popularity ahead of the elections, it is reprehensible that Mr President will descend abysmally low to fabricate outright lies and falsehood in a bid to discredit a more qualified and acceptable Presidential candidate.
“The PPCO makes bold to state that Atiku Abubakar has nothing to do with the alleged issues leading to the collapse of Bank PHB, but an honest and hardworking Nigerian who has no skeleton of any sort in his cupboard, unlike President Buhari, who is now entangled in series of corruption allegations.
“For emphasis, even the Chairman of President Buhari’s Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, had since told the world that the Buhari Presidency has searched everywhere and could not find anything incriminating on Atiku Abubakar.
“The world already knows that this attempt to mudsling our Presidential candidate is coming out of President Buhari’s frustration over Atiku Abubakar’s successful outing in the United States, for which the Buhari Presidency has gone into full hallucination.
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“This is in addition to their frenzied face-saving effort to divert public attention from President Buhari’s humiliating appearances in the respective rallies and Television shows he has had.”
The PPCO however, counselled President Buhari and the APC to note that Nigerians can see through their lies, fabrications and frustration and that their scheme against Atiku is already dead on arrival, saying that lies and deception will not help the ruling party.
The camp spokesman added: “If anything, the PPCO will want President Buhari to open the books and provide an explanation for the N9 trillion stolen under his watch as Minister of Petroleum Resources as detailed in the leaked NNPC memo.
“President Buhari should as well, allow an open inquest into the alleged involvement of his relations in the N1.032 trillion alleged corrupt acquisitions in 9Mobile and Keystone Bank PLC.”
The PPCO stated: “The PDP Presidential candidate, our great party and indeed all Nigerians, who have already reached a national consensus to vote-in Atiku Abubakar as the next President of our country, will not be distracted by this unfounded allegation by the rejected President Buhari and his handlers.”
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