Atiku confirms arrival in U.S.

FORMER vice president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku arrived in the United States (U.S.) yesterday.

In a post on Twitter, he said: “Just arrived Washington D.C for meeting with U.S. government officials, Nigerians living in D.C metropolis and the business community. -AA”, with a photograph, showing him clutching a bouquet of flowers, along with Senate President Bukola Saraki and a woman.

But the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, said it was not sure if the former Vice President would be visiting the U.S. any moment soon.

A source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the embassy was yet to get official information about the former vice president.

The source said: “Actually, we have not received any information for the embassy but we are just trying to find out whether really he is coming. That is what we are doing right now.

“They told us he’s coming tonight, today, so, we are trying to find out whether he’s really coming.

“Mr (Peter) Obi, (Atiku’s running mate), he was to come last week but the event was cancelled.

“So, we are still trying to see but if you get anything, please just let us know also because they said he’s coming here so that if you’re able to get any updated information, just inform us so that we can prepare vehicles to go to the airport and meet him and all that.

“For now, we have no information. If I am able to confirm anything, I will get back to you and please, if you too get any confirmation or any update, just get back to me, just call me.

“As a former vice president, the Embassy is supposed to organise to receive him at the airport and all that, but then we have not received anything in that regards,” the source said.

According to the report, Obi was billed to be in the U.S. last week and was scheduled to have a New Jersey/New York Townhall meeting but the event was postponed.

The PDP vice-presidential candidate is now rescheduled for the New/Jersey/New York USA Town Hall Meeting at Robert Treat Best Western Hotel, New Jersey on Monday, January 21.

The clarification from the embassy came as online reports said Atiku had either landed in the U.S. or had taken off from Nigeria to address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today, from 2:30pm to 4pm local time.

He was scheduled to be in Ogun State yesterday but the event was cancelled, it said.

Atiku was said to have been issued last December a U.S. visa for the first time in 13 years. The visa was reportedly facilitated by his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, a former foe turned endorser.

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But reports said Atiku sensed the visa could be a trap by the Americans and thus asked for a guarantee from the US government that he would not be arrested over a case of money laundering for which there were reports of a sealed indictment by the U.S. Justice Department.

In another case, former Congressman William Jefferson was jailed for 13 years for accepting a bribe from an investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire. Jefferson told the investor that he would need to give then Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar $500,000 “as a motivating factor” to make sure the company obtained contracts for iGate and Mody’s company in Nigeria.