Buhari used my money, influence to become president, but sidelined me – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government of sidelining him after helping him to power in 2015.

TheNewsGuru.com reports that Atiku spoke on the Hausa Service of the Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday. In his words: “Honestly speaking, I’m still a member of the APC; I was part of all the processes, including campaigns until success was achieved.

“But sadly, soon after the formation of government; I was side-lined, I have no any relationship with the government, I’ve not been contacted even once to comment on anything and in turn, I maintained my distance. They used our money and influence to get to where they are but three years down the lane, this is where we are.

“Yes, there were successes but not comprehensive success because the Boko Haram miscreants are still very active, killing our people and many local government councils in Borno and Yobe are under their firm grip. People cannot dare go back to their dwellings

“This thing baffles me; I never imagined that Nigeria will fight a protracted battle with Boko Haram for five years. At a time, we fought the Biafra war, which was more complicated because of the terrain in the South but the Biafran soldiers were roundly subdued in 30 months. But here we are, fighting an endless battle with the Boko Haram and there’s no end in sight”.

On the anti-graft war, he said: “How many people were arrested, prosecuted and jailed? How much was recovered from the looters?

“When we came on board in 1999, I remember we recovered between $4.5 and $4.7 billion from those that looted under (the late Gen. Sani) Abacha.”

TheNewsGuru.com reports that a member of the Buhari cabinet, Senator Aisha Alhassan who is the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development on Thursday declared her support for the former Vice President insisting that President Buhari is only interested in running a single term in office.