Festus Keyamo, the Director, Strategic Communications for
the APC Presidential Campaign Council has issued an
official statement on opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar's
trip to the United States which he describes as 'clandestine'.



Read the full statement below....


In our press release issued on Sunday, December
30, 2018, titled “WHEN THE THIEF IS SHOUTING
THIEF”: THE CASE OF ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR”,
we correctly predicted as follows: “By running for
President of Nigeria, Atiku intends to get some
immunity from prosecution. Already he is hoping to
obtain a visa to visit the US, as a guest of the State
department, a concession that the US will grant to
a Presidential candidate of Africa’s biggest Nation”.


Therefore, we were not surprised by his visit to the
U.S. For us, this visit is really a non-event
considering the issues involved in the forthcoming
election. However, we have bad news for those who
think this is a momentous event for Atiku Abubakar:
the visit was nothing but a downright catastrophe
because rather than dispel the fact of indictments
hanging over his head, it further confirms and
reinforces those facts for the following reasons:


(1) The visit had all the trappings of a fugitive
sneaking into America under a “special diplomatic
waiver”. For the candidate of the major opposition
party in Nigeria, it is an absolute disaster that the
visit was not announced ahead of time in Nigeria,
with his programmes and itinerary clearly spelt out,
the decent and customary minimum standard of
such visits. This culminated in his close aides
issuing conflicting statements about the visit when
he was already on his way there. In fact, one of
them called Paul Ibe actually spoke to the Press
that his principal was nowhere near America! Such
was the secrecy of the planning and execution of
that visit.


(2) It is shameful that a presidential candidate of a
major opposition party in Africa’s most populous
country would visit America, and the international
press was kept in the dark: There was NO SINGLE
press conference with the array of international
media and correspondents required for such ‘high-
profile’ visit. Atiku knows he has no moral stamina
to withstand the avalanche of hard questions
bordering on his sordid past in America. In fact,
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar claims he visited the Voice of
America (VOA) but only did two carefully-packaged
interviews with the Hausa service and the English to
Africa program - platforms that have always been
available to him back home. How strange! In fact,
both the Twitter handle (@VOANews) and official
website of VOA did not mention any such visit of
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to their station. For news
hounds, you would agree with us that such an
‘important personality’ cannot walk into a news
premises without reporters swooping on him.
Whatever he went to do in the premises of the VOA
must have been a carefully-arranged private visit
for the photo-ops, which was intended to scam
Nigerians. What more evidence do we need of a
“sneak-in-sneak-out” arrangement than this?.


(3) For a candidate who claims he wants to “get
Nigeria working again” (a meaningless phrase) to
sneak into America without meeting major players
in private businesses is a curiosity and an indication
that we are dealing with a candidate with a dodgy
and questionable character. He claims he went to
the U.S Chamber of Commerce, which is supposed
to be a business federation. Again, the Twitter
handle (@USChamber) and the website of the
organization make no mention of the visit of such
an ‘important personality’ to them. Maybe their
famous American lobbyist on a salary of N9million
per month can help them ‘do something’ about this
after this press statement.


(4) It is also an anomaly that the candidate of the
major opposition party in Nigeria sneaked into
America and did not meet large sections of political
leaders of similar ideologies and persuasions
towards which he claims to be inclined. For all his
claim to be going to America to meet “U.S
Government officials”, he only succeeded in meeting
a certain “Congressman Smith”, who is the
equivalent of a member of the House of
Representatives in Nigeria. You would agree with us
that as dignified and respected as the office of a
Member of the House of Representatives is, an
important personality cannot come to Nigeria on an
official visit and claim he has met the “Nigerian
government officials” after he pays a private visit to
that Member. For all we know, the Congressman
Smith may just be a private friend of Dr. Bukola
Saraki or Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. That reminds us of
Atiku’s famous legislator friend he threw under the
bus, Williams Jefferson, who taught us how to hide
laundered money ( which was meant for Atiku
Abubakar) in the deep freezer when the cops came
knocking on his door!


In all, it is very obvious now that the so-called
American trip was a desperate trip for photo-ops.
Throughout the trip, Atiku Abubakar looked cagey,
frightened and on edge. We note the close support
always provided by Senate President Bukola Saraki
like a comforting guardian angel. The visit and
arrangements smack of things local yahoo yahoo
boys do to scam their victims. It is utterly
disgusting and puerile that it has been brought into
a serious political contest.


Rather than being the highpoint of his campaign,
the American visit is indeed the lowest watermark
of Atiku Abubakar’s campaign. It was a political
and P.R disaster. The statements he released from
there only to the Nigerian Press back home that he
intends to alienate other countries and do business
with the U.S is actually the antithesis to our policy
of non-alignment.


For the information of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and
his handlers, Nigerians know that Nigeria is already
working again for everyone and not for a few. As
confirmed by him in a town-hall meeting a few days
before his disastrous trip to the U.S, he said he
wants to “get Nigeria working again” only for few
of his friends who he claims he wants to make
rich. If he cannot get them rich now from his
private businesses, it is obvious that he is referring
to the use of public funds to make his friends rich.
Nigerians should judge for themselves whether this
is the type of President they want.


Finally, whoever advised Atiku Abubakar to
undertake that trip to America just destroyed his
entire campaign and exposed him for who he is – a
questionable character who has continued to leave
huge questions over his suitability for the highest
office of the land and as such cannot be trusted by
the Nigerian people.

Thank you.

https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/atikus-clandestine-visit-to-us-by-festus-keyamo/s4m2d6n

did not worry myself going tru all the bruhaha.una no get shame APC

After all the noise that atiku cannot go to US this one no dey shame.

APC have found their lost voice. their lies have kept atiku in d news. dis free publicity shows APC have nothing 2offer

It is not possible for any human to Sneak into Usa. Oga Festus, you yab on this one!

dis Atiku Visit to America pain dem

I agree with some fact stated and don't believe some.
Saraki is a smart guy

Keyamo abeg show Nigerian youths how to sneak into the US.

"Atiku's corruption is very much like Buhari's integrity!! We hear about it but have no real proof of both"


Go figure!

You said he can't get visa. America gave him visa. They cleared his private jet and it landed in .U.S.

They knew he was coming.

Here you are shamelessly claiming Saraki was protecting him there. Did Saraki give him visa.

There must be something Buharis does to the brain of his zombies

Beautiful piece! Very Beautiful piece..

Since Atiku traveled to USA and shamed Yurubaa Muslims, they have been crying and lamenting in vain .... it sulk to be a yoro head slammer.