‘Invasion Of Atiku Plane Was A Premeditated Intimidation Tactic’

The Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCO) yesterday maintained that the deployment of security operative to search the airplane of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar was a premeditated attempt to intimidate him and not a routine check as claimed by the federal goverment.

They added that the event raises grave concerns about the  use of government services for purely political purposes in light of the conduct of free and fair elections in February 2019.

APCO said the All Progressives Congress (APC) had exposed it’s intension to search the airplane of Atiku in a statement it released last week, calling for an investigation into the strategy meeting of Atiku and PDP stalwarts in Dubai.

The campaign organisation said the claim by the Aviation ministry that the search of Atiku Abubakar’s plane is “routine”, is an afterthought that does not hold water for the simple reason that the PDP Presidential candidate has been flying in and out of Nigeria without ever receiving such a treatment until the APC released their statement.

The APCO statement said “On November 5, 2018, exactly a week ago today, the All Progressives Congress released an official statement accusing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of having strategy meetings for the purpose of moving “illicit cash” into Nigeria and they asked the security services  to investigate Atiku Abubakar and his plane.

“To quote from the APC’s statement, the ruling party said “Our intelligence, anti-graft and security agencies must be awake to its

responsibility of investigating the Dubai meeting. Cash and carry politicians must be prevented from moving illicit cash around to induce

voters and sponsor election violence and rigging. Again, relevant agencies must check suspicious movement of cash both locally and internationally by politically exposed persons under the guise of a “Dubai meeting” or any clandestine meeting”.

The Atiku campaign organisation added that after the APC statement, the party thereafter asked the security services to search aircrafts belonging

to members of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“That statement evinced an obvious premeditated intention by the APC and its Federal Government to deliberately embarrass the former Vice President by invading his plane with security personnel and possibly to set him up for the crimes they had already officially accused him of in their

statement.

“The official denial by the All Progressives Congress and the Presidency of any hand in the ordeal of the former Vice President is put to lie when you

examine their statement of last week which was clearly what was implemented against the former Vice President. It also shows that both parties have no credibility and will do or say anything to further their interests.

“The statement by the aviation ministry that the search of Atiku Abubakar’s plane is “routine” is an afterthought that does not hold water for the

simple reason that the PDP Presidential candidate has been flying in and out of Nigeria without ever receiving such a treatment until the APC

released their statement.

“This event raises grave concerns about using government services for purely political purposes and what this portends for the conduct of free

and fair elections in February 2019, and shows as hollow President Buhari’s promise to superintendent over credible polls.

“The Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation wishes to remind Nigerians and the international community that by Nigeria’s constitution, only the

President can order the deployment of military and paramilitary personnel as Commander-in-Chief.“That, combined with the statement released last week is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that what happened to Atiku Abubakar was not a routine

exercise, but a deliberate attempt to intimidate him by those who have seen the political handwriting on the wall,” the statement said. fazenotetv[FNTV].