I am not corrupt, Atiku tells EFCC, Fani-Kayode regains freedom

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has told officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he is not corrupt.

He claimed that allegations levelled against him were trumped up to paint him black.

The former Vice President made the statements in an interview he granted to Zero Tolerance Magazine, a publication of the EFCC.

Atiku said in the latest edition of the magazine that no court had found him guilty of corrupt activities.

He also spoke of how he was allegedly handed shares of Transcorp, which he rejected. He was reacting to statements credited to Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai in his recent book.

His words: “This is the same el-Rufai and others, who incorporated Transcorp during my time as vice president and offered me shares and
i declined. I wrote to them officially to say it was unethical of me to accept those offers. So, where is the corruption toga coming from?”

On the N50 million bribery scandal during the ministerial confirmation screening, Atiku said: “No, that is absolutely not true.”

He explained: “It is also on record, because I controlled campaign funds, every senator benefited from those funds and el-Rufai now went and said those campaign funds were meant for bribe.

“Of course my boss, the president, investigated the story and found out that indeed every senator got contributions from the campaign fund which I was managing. So, where is the corruption in that?”

On perceptions that he was corrupt while in government, he noted: “Well if Atiku is corrupt, he would have been found guilty of corruption by all the panels and probes and cases brought before courts.

“I remember the only corruption indictment against me was a White Paper, which was cooked up by our own administration overnight. This included the EFCC that I helped establish and other cabinet ministers, which I challenged in court.”

“The court rightly dismissed all those indictments as being political. Till today, nobody has ever indicted me for corruption.”

Meanwhile, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode was released from Kuje Prisons yesterday. An Abuja High Court had granted him bail last Thursday.

Fani Kayode wrote on his Facebook page: “Thanks be to God. After another 24 days in detention I am finally out. Thanks for all your love, prayers and support. We shall prevail.”