By Tordue Salem

ABUJA—Former Vice President and presidential aspirant on the Peoples Democratic Party’s platform, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to address allegations that he was campaigning for the presidency with tax payers’ money.

In a statement by his Campaign Organisation in Abuja yesterday, the former vice president stated that “President Jonathan has failed to respond to a critical and serious allegation made by a major and reputable socio-cultural group in the country, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, that the president is using public resources to fund his lavish campaign engagements.”

According to him, “it would amount to double standard and chicanery for the president to commit himself to zero tolerance on corruption and then resort to use of the peoples’ money to pursue personal ambition.”

He said “there must be a clear distinction between President Jonathan as an individual aspirant and the President as the head of government and Commander in-Chief.

“Wherein lies the level playing field when public resources are put at the disposal of the president, just because he is an incumbent.”

According to him, “the president’s deliberate taciturnity is not a virtue in the face of great moral challenge.
“There is urgent need for President Jonathan to speak up on this issue in the interest of the relevant political finance contents of the 2010 Electoral Act and his avowed anti-corruption crusade.”