The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar has been alleged of diverting public funds and receiving huge amount of bribes when serving as Vice-president of Nigeria.
In a shocking revelation that has upended conversations in the political space in the country, Michael Achimugu, a former media aide, to the PDP flagbearer released a video where he gave details of how Atiku used phony companies called ‘Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)” to receive bribes and divert public funds.
Achimugu equally warned Nigerians against voting Atiku because of his alleged corrupt tendencies.
In corroborating his claims, the Ex-aide shared an audio recording of alleged phone conversion between him and Atiku, in which the former president admitted that while serving as VP under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2007, he founded the SPVs with the aim to “carry out certain activities” in a deceitful bid to avoid being linked to corruption.
“What happened was when we came into office, I advised the president against open corruption. I told him to give me three people ‘you trust’ and I will prepare three companies in which they will be subscribers or rather the directors,” the PDP presidential candidate was heard saying in the tape
One of those companies, as admitted by Atiku, was Marine Float Limited — a company previously accused of receiving N100 million out of the N1.16 billion ecological funds obtained in 2004 by the convicted former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye.
Achimugu also revealed how one of Atiku’s friends appropriated a media company he set up with billions of naira.
“The SPV conversation made me recall one of the most emotional moments I ever shared with him. It was at the end of 2017 and the Waziri had recounted how he spent “billions of naira” buying equipment and setting up a media company using one Olushola Akanmode as proxy.
“According to him, when he wanted his company returned to him, Akanmode refused. Atiku could not go to court because the documents were in the proxy’s name. That event was where he said to me, “All of the people I have helped are never as loyal to me as I was to Shehu Musa Yar’adua.”
“Moved by emotions, I had felt extreme pity for him. Today, Akanmode is still in his circle of friends. I will discuss the details in one of the sequels to this piece”, her wrote.
Achimugu promised more revelations to come on Atiku’s corrupt practices while serving as Vice-president of the country in order to ensure that Nigerians don’t vote the wrong candidate into power in a bid to avoid plunging the country further down the drains.
The ex-media aide, although, expressed concerns that his life might be at risk as a result of the ‘dark secrets’ he had spilled out for the benefit of Nigerians, his lawyers are well-informed and he has sworn to an affidavit of facts which will be released to the public should he be eliminated.
“My lawyers are well briefed and equipped for the mother of all exposures once something happens to me or any member of my family, he said in the video.
“I have sworn to an affidavit of facts which will be released later, which is one of the steps I have taken for possible backlash for the series of disclosures I will be making.”