Atiku to Tinubu: Come clean of corrupt allegations, apologise, resign from presidential race

By Tunde Opalana

Barely 37 days to the February 25 presidential election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been advised to back out of the presidential race after he might have own up to different corrupt allegations against him and apilogized to Nigerians.

His counterpart in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar cautioned the former Lagos State governor to desist from his face saving blatant lies against him, which he said are nothing but distractions.

Speaking through the spokesperson of the Atiku / Okowa Campaign Organisation, Kola Ologbindiyan, the PDP candidate said Tinubu in his dispirited attempt to fight back the public condemnation has exposed himself as the real Mr. SPV..

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Ologbondiyan said in the vexatious plots by Asiwaju Tinubu to divert attention from his litany of atrocities he tried to “impugn on the impeccable character of our Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, with unfounded controversy of corruption.”

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He however said, no matter how much falsehood appears to thrive, Tinubu has not only failed in this mission to tarnish the clean image of Atiku Abubakar but in the process also

Ologbondiyan said: “It is now in public space how Bola Tinubu allegedly used a reported SPV company, Soft Alliance, to steal a whopping $1million belonging to Lagos State through an account 0015778102 in a third-generation bank and how the sum of $826,000 belonging to Lagos State was also reportedly moved to a domiciliary account 0036620785 allegedly owned by Tinubu in a first-generation bank with number in a three-day lodgment scheme.

“It is also in public space, how like the act of the notorious artful dodger, the money was on February 3, 2015 “split and paid in bits and pieces in $30,000, $30,000, $35,000, $30,000” into a domiciliary account 0036620785 allegedly belonging to Bola Tinubu in a first-generation bank.

“Nigerians are now in the know of how tranches of $35,000, $71,000, $100,000, $30,000, $200,000, $300,000, $30,000, $70,000, $80,000, $70,000 and $30,000 were alleged to have been taken by Tinubu from different branches of the said first generation bank between February 4 to February 5, 2015.

“Nigerians now know of how Tinubu has been desperately trying to divert attention from his alleged use of Alpha Beta Consulting Limited and Alpha Beta LPP, companies he reportedly owned by proxy, to loot N100bn tax money belonging to Lagos State, since 2002.

“It is now in public domain how Alpha Beta, which has for over 20 years held the exclusive rights to collect taxes in Lagos State in return for a commission under very shady arrangements through which it reportedly siphoned billions of naira belonging to Lagos State.

“The public is now aware of a petition before an anti-corruption agency wherein Tinubu’s alleged SPV company was reported to have used another company which shares same address with Tinubu’s office on Idowu Taylor Street in Lagos to launder Lagos State funds.

“Documents sighted in one of the anti-corruption agencies reveals that Tinubu’s SPV allegedly laundered over N20 billion ($46.5m) in different currencies to several companies, including payment of N1bn ($2.3m) to company that is widely known to belong to him.”

Challenging Tinubu to come out clean and speak to these damning money laundering allegations against him, the Atiku campaign asked him to explain to Nigerians how billions of naira belonging to Lagos State and meant for the welfare of the people, reportedly found its way into Soft Alliance and ended in bits and pieces in foreign currencies into domiciliary accounts allegedly owned by him in commercial banks.

“We also challenge Asiwaju Tinubu to explain to Nigerians how, as Lagos State governor, he awarded the exclusive right of tax collection in Lagos State to his alleged proxy company, Alpha Beta, as well as the allegations that the SPV was used to steal over N100bn belonging to Lagos State.

“Furthermore, Nigerians are still awaiting the APC Presidential Candidate’s still has no explanation for his conviction and criminal forfeiture of $460,000 in a criminal case of trafficking in narcotic in the United States of America, for which under Section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), he is not eligible to contest election in Nigeria.

“Since Asiwaju Tinubu has on his own opened up on the allegations of corruption, our campaign is prepared to help him to fill the gaps he wants closed,”said Ologbondiyan.

The Atiku/ Okowa Campaign organisation vowed that in the days ahead, it will not hesitate “to furnish Nigerians with a compendium of corrupt practices as well as the list of SPVs used by the APC Candidate to loot public funds in key government agencies thereby depriving Nigerians the benefit of our national patrimony.”