Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's main opposition Presidential candidate has alleged that the family of President Muhammadu Buhari was behind the recent acquisition of 9Mobile telecoms firm and Keystones Bank and seeking immediate probe of the deal.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the appropriate agency of government should swing into action by urgently institute a probe to unravel those he said may be hidden faces behind the new ownership structure of multi-billion naira companies.
A spokesman for the former vice president, Phrank Shaibu said such a probe was necessary in view of reports that members of President Buhari’s family now own substantial shares in Etisalat (9mobile) Nigeria which has an estimated $2b (about 727 billion at 360 per dollar) of its estimated $20 billion global net worth.
Abubakar said unimpeachable sources have revealed that the first family now plays big in the nation’s financial sector after acquiring mouthwatering shares in Keystone Bank with total assets of $1.916 billion (equivalent to 307.5 billion) as well as purchasing about 3 billion naira worth of shares in the new Pakistani Islamic Bank.
“I know that last week was turbulent for President Buhari and I apologise for adding to his woes, but as he is insistent on the myth that he is spotless and anti-corrupt, if this is found to be true, this scandal would break every rule of corporate and public governance, since this will be the first time members of the first family will be openly involved in a once-in-a-lifetime deal that would make them all richer beyond their wildest dreams.”
He said the allegation was coming amidst reported allegations in the media that the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government plans to use billions of naira from the Anchor Borrowers Programme allocated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for farmers, using imaginary donations from 12 million farmers as a façade.
The presidential candidate of the PDP advised President Buhari to shun the use of state resources and machinery for the upcoming 2019 presidential poll.
In his reaction, APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said Atiku had started exhibiting early signs of depression, resulting from obvious frustration.
Issa-Onilu challenged Atiku to tell Nigerians why a discredited person like him should be elected as President instead of raising puerile allegations on a daily basis.
“President Buhari and APC, not his programmes for the country, appear to be his main campaign issues. Nigerians are desirous of campaign that focuses on issues that matter to them. For Atiku and his PDP co-travellers, the only interest is to grab power and continue where they stopped in their avarice.
Abubakar said unimpeachable sources have revealed that the first family now plays big in the nation’s financial sector after acquiring mouthwatering shares in Keystone Bank with total assets of $1.916 billion (equivalent to 307.5 billion) as well as purchasing about 3 billion naira worth of shares in the new Pakistani Islamic Bank.
“I know that last week was turbulent for President Buhari and I apologise for adding to his woes, but as he is insistent on the myth that he is spotless and anti-corrupt, if this is found to be true, this scandal would break every rule of corporate and public governance, since this will be the first time members of the first family will be openly involved in a once-in-a-lifetime deal that would make them all richer beyond their wildest dreams.”
He said the allegation was coming amidst reported allegations in the media that the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government plans to use billions of naira from the Anchor Borrowers Programme allocated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for farmers, using imaginary donations from 12 million farmers as a façade.
The presidential candidate of the PDP advised President Buhari to shun the use of state resources and machinery for the upcoming 2019 presidential poll.
In his reaction, APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said Atiku had started exhibiting early signs of depression, resulting from obvious frustration.
Issa-Onilu challenged Atiku to tell Nigerians why a discredited person like him should be elected as President instead of raising puerile allegations on a daily basis.
“President Buhari and APC, not his programmes for the country, appear to be his main campaign issues. Nigerians are desirous of campaign that focuses on issues that matter to them. For Atiku and his PDP co-travellers, the only interest is to grab power and continue where they stopped in their avarice.
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