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| Abubakar |
A former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Thursday said himself and ex-Governor Bola Tinubu did not need al-Qaeda to confront ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He also denied they have links with the foremost terror network.
He also denied they have links with the foremost terror network.
Atiku made the clarifications in a statement released by his media office in Abuja.
The statement said: “The former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has described as absolute rubbish and utter falsehood the insinuations by Wikileaks that he and the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had links with the al-Qaeda terror network as part of their political strategy to allegedly make Nigeria ungovernable for former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The former Vice-President said that he didn’t need al-Qaeda to defend himself against Obasanjo’s evil machinations to bring him down.
“Atiku is a law-abiding citizen who would rather seek legal avenues to protect his rights than criminal conspiracy to achieve his ambition. Having gone to court fourteen times and won against former President Obasanjo in all cases, Atiku noted that it was ridiculous to imagine that he would resort to terrorism to achieve his ambition.
“The former Vice-President noted that he would have ignored the preposterous allegation by Professor Damachi, but chose to issue a rebuttal so that falsehood would not be mistaken for a credible story.
“He said the Wikileaks revelation was founded on idle stories by sources that lack credibility and integrity.
“Atiku wondered which responsible and sensible politician would harm his supporters by engaging in criminality to fight a private political war with his boss.
The statement quoted Atiku as saying: “I am adequately equipped to defend my political rights; I don’t need al-Qaeda connection to resist the oppression of Obasanjo. Rather than use al-Qaeda, the constitution and the laws of the land were my weapons against the tyranny of an intolerant dictator.
“We fought Obasanjo’s life presidency ambition using the parliament and the court of laws and the nation won the battle. We did not have any need for al-Qaeda.”
The statement added: “The former Vice-President said the fact that he and former Lagos State Governor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, were accused of al-Qaeda connection had exposed the political motive of the allegation.
“Professor Damachi, who was quoted by Wikileaks, admitted that he heard the allegations from Obasanjo’s loyalists in the Peoples Democratic Party at a time Atiku and Tinubu were in the Action Congress of Nigeria in 2007.
“Former Vice-President Atiku said the allegation of terrorism against him couldn’t survive in the crucible of basic credibility test because the quoted sources were unreliable vested political interests, who served as Obasanjo’s chorus boys when he turned Nigeria into one-man dictatorship.
“The United States Embassy itself, in an accompanying comment to the revelations by Professor Damachi, discredited its own source by admitting that at the time he gave his accounts, he was working for Atiku’s political rivals vying for the nation’s highest political office.
“It therefore, noted that the professor would naturally believe any damaging lies told against another politician contending for power with his boss, “ the statement added.
The statement said: “The former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has described as absolute rubbish and utter falsehood the insinuations by Wikileaks that he and the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had links with the al-Qaeda terror network as part of their political strategy to allegedly make Nigeria ungovernable for former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The former Vice-President said that he didn’t need al-Qaeda to defend himself against Obasanjo’s evil machinations to bring him down.
“Atiku is a law-abiding citizen who would rather seek legal avenues to protect his rights than criminal conspiracy to achieve his ambition. Having gone to court fourteen times and won against former President Obasanjo in all cases, Atiku noted that it was ridiculous to imagine that he would resort to terrorism to achieve his ambition.
“The former Vice-President noted that he would have ignored the preposterous allegation by Professor Damachi, but chose to issue a rebuttal so that falsehood would not be mistaken for a credible story.
“He said the Wikileaks revelation was founded on idle stories by sources that lack credibility and integrity.
“Atiku wondered which responsible and sensible politician would harm his supporters by engaging in criminality to fight a private political war with his boss.
The statement quoted Atiku as saying: “I am adequately equipped to defend my political rights; I don’t need al-Qaeda connection to resist the oppression of Obasanjo. Rather than use al-Qaeda, the constitution and the laws of the land were my weapons against the tyranny of an intolerant dictator.
“We fought Obasanjo’s life presidency ambition using the parliament and the court of laws and the nation won the battle. We did not have any need for al-Qaeda.”
The statement added: “The former Vice-President said the fact that he and former Lagos State Governor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, were accused of al-Qaeda connection had exposed the political motive of the allegation.
“Professor Damachi, who was quoted by Wikileaks, admitted that he heard the allegations from Obasanjo’s loyalists in the Peoples Democratic Party at a time Atiku and Tinubu were in the Action Congress of Nigeria in 2007.
“Former Vice-President Atiku said the allegation of terrorism against him couldn’t survive in the crucible of basic credibility test because the quoted sources were unreliable vested political interests, who served as Obasanjo’s chorus boys when he turned Nigeria into one-man dictatorship.
“The United States Embassy itself, in an accompanying comment to the revelations by Professor Damachi, discredited its own source by admitting that at the time he gave his accounts, he was working for Atiku’s political rivals vying for the nation’s highest political office.
“It therefore, noted that the professor would naturally believe any damaging lies told against another politician contending for power with his boss, “ the statement added.
SOURCE: Nation Newspaper 15 September 2011. http://www.thenationonlineng.net
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