Kehinde Lawal
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has explained why he performed below expectation when he served in President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
Atiku also said anyone with evidence that he stole government money or built his investment on public funds should come forth with such evidence.
The former vice president stated that Nigerian Constitution did not give him the powers to execute projects, adding that he lacked the powers to execute official projects of his own initiative while in office.
He said he had limited capacity to deliver even on some lofty projects designed for his own state (Adamawa) while he served in President Obasanjo’s government.
While speaking to journalists on his arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State in continuation of his consultations to Bayelsa and Rivers States for his 2019 presidential bid, Atiku last Tuesday added that their administration however awarded contract.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential hopeful insisted that the administration he served in as vice president awarded contracts for the Mayo Belwa-Jada-Ganye-Tongo and Yola-Mubi-Maiduguri roads in Adamawa State in its first term.
He said there was supposed to be a spur of the road linking Mambilla in Taraba State, thereby making it the shortest cut to Mambilla but execution of the projects were delayed and later truncated on the altar of politics.
Atiku explained that allegations that funds meant for road projects in the state were diverted to build the American University of Nigeria in Yola was unfair to him, and that “it shows lack of understanding of how government runs on the part of the people making such allegations. Government does not run on such pedestrian level, it is a process.â€
He maintained that all the money used to set up the first development university in Africa came from private sources.
According to him, “To set the records straight, no public funds were involved in all my investments in several sectors that have continued to provide jobs and enhance educational and socio-economic well-being of Nigerians. I have always been contented with what God has given to me in all its ramifications, and I thank Him for using me to better the lot of the people.
“Without being immodest, I was a successful businessman before going into politics, and subsequently becoming the vice president by Allah’s grace. I was not desperate to be in government in order to make money but to serve the people in my own little way and contribute my quota to its overall development.â€
Atiku further asserted that he was the most investigated vice president in Nigeria, and challenged “that anybody with evidence linking public funds to the AUN or any of his private investment should come forward to prove that.â€
