Michael Achimugu, an ex-aide of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, when he was the Vice President of the country between 1999 and 2007, has offered reasons why corruption cannot be pinned on him.
The ex-aide, who offered the explanation in a video, has headed to the court to establish that Abubakar is allegedly corrupt.
The Certified True Copies of the court papers filed by Achimugu have been made available to the press.
The court action was preceded by a video in which he played back an alleged telephone conversation Abubakar had with him when he requested to know how to respond to an issue of corruption allegation against him in the public domain when he was Vice President.
The voice in the conversation said as the Vice President, he told his then boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, that they should not practice open corruption but find another means of funding any project they would be involved in.
The voice said: “What happened was when we came into office and I advised the president against open corruption.
“I told him to give me three people you trust and I will prepare three companies in which they will be subscribers or rather the directors.
“So that if there is any contract that we give they will act like consultants and they are given a fee.
“That fee is what we use to fund the party.”
The voice Obasanjo gave him the name of Otunba Oyewole Fasawe, Andy Uba and a politician from Borno State he said died in a plane crash, adding: “I now incorporated companies and put them as subscribers.
“One of the companies was Marine Float.”
The Abubakar voice said one of the companies, Marine Float, was allegedly used to collect N100 million from a former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye.
It would be recalled that Dariye, who has now been pardoned by the Federal Government, was jailed for criminal misappropriation and criminal breach of trust in the handling of N2 billion.
The voice in the audio by Achimugu added: “When the governor sent donations, he sent it to Marine Float.
“It stayed in Marine Float.
“One of the subscribers of Marine Float was Otunba Fasawe.
“That was where the N100 million went to.
“It did not go to Atiku Abubakar.
“It went to Marine Float.
“Marine Float was a Special Purpose Vehicle.”
Achimugu said this was the major reason the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission could not establish any evidence of corruption against Abubakar.
In the affidavit he swore to on December 2, 2022 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Achimugu, who revealed that he is a Media Consultant and lives in Abuja, said: “That on or about the 13th of June 2021, there was an allegation of corruption against Atiku Abubakar regarding a N100 million bribe given to Atiku Abubakar by the former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye.
“That I sent an email to Atiku Abubakar to give me some explanation to reply the allegation
“Atiku Abubakar sent an email to me that reads as follows: ‘The money was paid into an SPV for party funding and the directors of Marine Float was Otunmba Fasewe, not Atiku.’
“I then replied him as follows: ‘May I ask what an SPV is?’
“Atiku Abubakar responded as follows: ‘Special Purpose Vehicle. A company registered to carry out certain activities.’”
Attached are the court paper and the video released by Achimugu.
