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Nigerian Candidate’s U.S. Visit Offered Temporary Relief from Graft Ban, Reports Reuters

By Andy Sullivan, Lesley Wroughton, and Paul Carsten

WASHINGTON/ABUJA – Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar recently traveled to Washington for meetings with senior U.S. diplomats and lawmakers, a visit made possible by a temporary lifting of a longstanding travel ban connected to past bribery allegations, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The U.S. administration has not commented formally on Atiku’s travel status. However, it is widely known that he has faced a travel ban for several years due to his involvement in two significant corruption cases during his time as vice president from 1999 to 2007.

For Atiku’s supporters, the fact that he was able to visit Washington without incident on January 17 and 18 serves as a testament to the alleged baselessness of the corruption claims made against him. “It is fake news, and we showed that,” stated Harold Molokwu, leader of the U.S. chapter of Atiku’s People’s Democratic Party.

Insiders revealed that the U.S. State Department temporarily lifted the travel ban after lobbyists advocated for congressional support to facilitate the visit, emphasizing the importance of engaging with a primary challenger to the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, ahead of Nigeria’s February 16 elections. One source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, indicated that the U.S. government did not want to create hostility with a potential new leader of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest oil producer.

Atiku’s lobbying team worked to address the resistance at the State Department by gaining endorsements from congressional members to support his visit. They argued that the top U.S. official for African affairs, Assistant Secretary Tibor Nagy, should promote democracy in Nigeria, which ranks as the seventh most populous nation worldwide.

“Assistant Secretary Nagy was pleased to meet with him and outline the U.S. government’s expectations for Nigeria’s elections to be free, fair, transparent, and reflect the will of the people,” stated a State Department representative, reaffirming that the department did not initiate the waiver request.

Buhari, who first came to power through a military coup in the 1980s, was democratically elected in 2015 and is campaigning for a second term, largely on an anti-corruption platform.

Atiku’s visa issues can be traced back to his vice presidency, during which he was central to the corruption case involving former U.S. Representative William Jefferson, who was convicted for attempting to bribe Atiku to gain business advantages in Nigeria. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2009, a term later reduced.

Additionally, U.S. Senate investigators claimed in 2010 that one of Atiku’s wives helped him transfer over $40 million from offshore companies into the United States, with part of that amount reportedly linked to bribes from a German technology company that was later convicted of bribery.

Atiku has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and neither he nor his spouse face criminal charges in the U.S. In response to inquiries about the allegations, a spokesperson for Atiku stated that these matters have been previously addressed and chose not to comment further.

Atiku’s recent trip to Washington was organized with assistance from two lobbying firms. He personally retained one firm in December to facilitate obtaining a visa, which has so far earned them $80,000 for their services. A second firm had been contracted by his political party earlier at a rate of $90,000 per month before he became the official candidate.

Lobbyists aimed to arrange a meeting with Nagy to illustrate that the U.S. was invested in supporting free and fair elections in Nigeria. “We are not asking the administration to take sides but merely to insist on the same standards of fairness in electoral processes,” expressed lobbyist Jamie Rubin.

During his visit, Atiku also gathered with business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and met with key Republican lawmakers with foreign affairs expertise, including Representatives Michael McCaul and Chris Smith. Neither lawmaker requested a visa waiver on Atiku’s behalf.

Atiku stayed at a prominent hotel owned by the U.S. president and interacted with several hundred Nigerian expatriates there. The choice of venue was reportedly influenced by the availability of discounted rooms with short notice.

“We chose the hotel primarily for the availability of space,” remarked Uche Udemadu, an official from the U.S. chapter of the People’s Democratic Party.

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