A coalition of civil societies under the auspices of the Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations in Nigeria (FONGON) on Wednesday at the United States Embassy in Abuja protested the plan by the American government to grant the US Visa to a former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
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The Convener and national chairman of the forum, Mr. Wole Badmus, who led the protest also read and later presented a protest letter to the American Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador W. Stuart Symington.
“It was with highest level of discontent that we received an update of purported granting of entry visa to former vice president Atiku Abubakar to the United State of America last Friday. This is apart from the tacit and covert electoral gain such can confer him,” Badmus said.
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According to him, the outcome of the US Senate Permanent sub-committee on Investigations, chaired by Senator Carl Levin which submitted its report on 4, February, 2010, apart from the probe by US government on concern about corruption in the Third World and its corrosive effects on the development of honest government, democratic principles, and the rule of law.
“A summary of the report indicates that between 2006 and 2008, Jennifer Douglas, a US citizen and the fourth wife of Atiku Abubakar, helped her husband bring over $40m in suspect funds into the United States through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to US bank accounts. In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms. Douglas received over $2m in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002, from Siemens A6, a major German corporation,” he said.
Badmus said, “It is for the above that we advise that your embassy to decline visa to Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. Granting his visa request will amount to negation of the Patriot Act which makes the acceptance of foreign corruption precedes a US money laundering offense.”
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