Less than twenty-four hours which story on Nigeria’s former Vice President and Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Atiku Abubakar lobbying America for support, posters surfaced in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) declaring Alhaji Atiku as “The Pukka ” .
Our correspondent observed that the intention of posters is to portray Alhaji Atiku as ‘Authentic’ President which is the meaning of “The Pukka “.
Atiku is already at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to challenge declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of February 23, Presidential election.
Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes while his closest challenger, Atiku Abubakar, secured 11,262,978 votes.
The posters flooded the Central Business Area of Abuja
According to a report by the Centre for Responsive Politics (CRP), a research group dedicated to tracking money in US politics and its effects on elections and public policy, published on Monday, Atiku has enlisted the assistance of two high-powered lawyers in Washington DC, to “help in his legal challenge after his election loss”.
Atiku had filed a suit before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal challenging the outcome of the election and insisting that he won the election.
According to the report, “Abubakar has ties to those in Trump’s orbit, having hired political consultants like Riva Levinson, who worked with Paul Manafort, and Brian Ballard, a major Trump fundraiser.”
Reference was also made to Atiku’s much-publicised visit to the US, during which he stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC. His visit to the US made major news since there were allegations that he could not step on the shores of America as a result of corruption-related issues.
A Senate subcommittee report on foreign corruption had referred to a transfer of millions of dollars into the U.S. through shell companies by Atiku, although he didn’t face prosecution. In 2009, the FBI alleged that he demanded bribes from former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who was convicted of corruption charges. Jefferson stored $90,000 in cash for Abubakar in his freezer at some point.
Filings accessed on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by CRP’s Foreign Lobby Watch on March 24, showed that former Justice Department official Bruce Fein and his firm, Fein & DelValle PLLC, registered as foreign agents on the PDP presidential candidate’s behalf.
“Fein, the associate deputy attorney general in Ronald Reagan’s administration and general counsel to the FCC, played a significant role in the repeal of the FCC’s ‘Fairness Doctrine’. He also later worked with then-Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) in drafting articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. Joining Fein in the effort is his partner at the firm, W. Bruce DelValle, who according to an online biography has a varied background tackling civil rights and constitutional law issues, litigating intellectual property and liability disputes, along with representing a number of sports and entertainment personalities,” the report noted.
