By Agunwa Uzendu, Abuja
As the Presidential Campaign of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is about to kick-off in Jos, Plateau State, President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised not to be in hurry to join the trail without first investigating the circumstances surrounding the forfeiture of the sum of $460,000 to the United States government by the party’s Presidential flag bearer.
The Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organisation argued that if the allegations the APC candidate has links with a drug network as a result of which the $460,000 were forfeited to the United States government eventually becomes a fact, it will tarnish the integrity posture of President Buhari.
The spokesman of the campaign organization, Kola Ologbondiyan, who gave this admonition in a phone chat on Monday, recalled that the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, who is also the spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign, had already admitted that there was a forfeiture of money by Tinubu but faulted Keyamo for linking the forfeiture to unpaid taxes.
Ologbondiyan argued that whether the forfeiture was linked to drugs or tax, an inquest into the circumstances leading to the forfeiture must be conducted so that Mr. President will not leave Nigerians with the impression that he is abetting crime or planning to hand over to someone with links to an international drug network.
The Campaign Organization explained that the right thing for President Buhari to do is to probe the allegations before presenting Tinubu to Nigerians.
“There are suggestions in public space that President Muhammadu Buhari should distance himself from the candidate of their party on the ground that it can rubbish whatever integrity is left of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“So, the natural expectation being that the government of President Buhari can go and even investigate the allegation against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the sense that a serving minister in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari who is also the spokesperson of the campaign organization of Bola Tinubu had already admitted the fact that there was forfeiture. But he said it was a taxation.
“So, whichever way you look at it, money believed to belong to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was taken out of his account, a whopping sum of $460,000. There’s no argument of any sort.
“And as we speak now, there are also report in public space Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu claimed to have worked in Deloitte. But there are reports now that Deloitte has denied the fact that he ever worked with them.
“So, I believe that all this needs to be investigated by President Muhammadu Buhari before he begins to go round to present Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a candidate.
“Because if at the end of the day he doesn’t carry out a proper investigation and all the issues that are in public space come out to be real, how is he going to run away from it? Or how is he going to run away from them?”
The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization warned that with just a few months left in his tenure, President Buhari should not allow himself to be dragged into any drug controversy.
“You don’t expect a President Buhari who was elected into office on account of his integrity to go and support a candidate who is being alleged to have forfeited money to the United States government on grounds of alleged link to drug issues.
“You don’t expect a president who is leaving office, who has how many months to leave office to be dragged into a drug cartel. These issues of drug cartel, these are implications that might arise,” the campaign organization declared.
Recall that following the recent receipt of a certified true copy of the US order to forfeit the amount, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had hinted that it may approach the court to determine if his participation in the 2023 poll will not violate the Constitution and Electoral Act.