The expected presidential campaign has now begun between former vice president Atiku Abubakar (1999-2007) and President Muhammadu Buhari, ahead of the 2019 presidential elections. Soon after Atiku declared his anticipated resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), he announced that he would rejoin the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on 3 December.

Atiku has already started to make extensive engagements with the business community in Lagos City hoping to present himself as a good option for the economy which is perhaps the best tactic against Buhari, who is often criticised for his lack of economy finesse. Business sources have told Nigeria Politics & Security that they have no doubt that an Atiku victory would be positive for business, at least in the short run.

In an interview published on 2 December — a day before his formal announcement of joining the PDP — Atiku disclosed that, before his presidency, Buhari was unable to visit the US for 15 years because of what he described as ‘religious considerations’. Atiku’s allegation appears to be a deliberate attempt to reinforce the public perception of the president as a religious bigot. Buhari has always struggled to contend with this criticism, particularly in the South East and South South geopolitical zones where Buhari will be most strongly contested in the 2019 elections.

The Presidency has been quick to rebuff the allegation. On 2 December, the president’s media spokesperson Femi Adesina issued a statement which described Atiku’s allegation as ‘fictive concoction’ and said that at no time was Buhari ever barred from entering the US. It did not, however, provide details on whether Buhari actually had visited the US prior to becoming president and, if so, what dates he visited.

Unlike other living former Nigerian presidents, Buhari was not known for his regional outreach or involvement in international affairs before his current presidential term.  During this term, however, he has visited the US several times.

Atiku, on the other hand, has been unable to visit the US since 2005, when he was named in an FBI sting operation by the former member of the US House of representatives, Williams Jefferson. During a raid on Jefferson’s office at the Capitol building, the FBI found US$90,000 cash hidden in his freezer that was supposedly meant as a bribe to Atiku who was then vice president.

Atiku has consistently claimed that he knew nothing about the intended bribe, despite his wife also being named in the allegation. Atiku was never named in Jefferson’s indictment but the allegations have continued to damage his political reputation.

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