By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
Erstwhile Vice-President and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has revealed how he escaped landmines set up by presidency officials to ensnare him in corrupt deeds.

Speaking to a select audience of top media executives in Lagos on Sunday night, Atiku equally affirmed that he was not desperate for the presidency, saying that he had enough money to eat in his life time.

Responding to questions on why the toga of corruption was being tied around him, Atiku, who was flanked by senior political aides and associates at the dinner, disclosed that it was a deliberate campaign masterminded from the presidency while he was Vice-President to stop him from succeeding President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He said: “It started from the presidency. It was a grand design to put the garb of corruption around me so that I would be ineligible to either contest or threaten anybody. Every government machinery both at home and abroad was used to execute this grand design and I made sure that I insulated myself from that.

“I believe you would agree with me that nobody has been so investigated in office as I was. As chairman of COJA, which the President gave me, I executed faithfully. He set up three different investigations one after the other to make sure that they found me with something, but unfortunately, I knew where he was heading.

“There was no single COJA contract that I made sure that he did not approve even though I had the power to approve it, even if it is ten naira, I took it to him and he approved it. So, how can you get me?”

“I was discussing with a top US government official that it was written about me that I was corrupt, that I am a thief, I am this and that. The comment of the US authorities was very uncomplimentary that this is unbecoming of a President to write about his vice like this.

In the course of my travels I have met many Heads of State in Africa and outside who have told me “but your President said you are corrupt but we don’t find you like that.”

“So, this corruption toga was deliberate to make sure that I am totally eliminated from the political process in this country because somebody felt I am a threat or I would be unstoppable and so on and so forth. But if I am that corrupt, haba all these years why is it that up till now, if you said that as Vice-President I had immunity, I no longer have immunity, no agency in Nigeria, no Police Station has invited me to question. No agency and like it is popularly being said that I cannot go to America and so on and so forth.

America is not the kind of country that if you break their laws that they will let you go, wherever you may be they will pick you up! Anywhere.”

“Yes, America investigated my transactions and I provided all information that they needed but they never found where public money went into my business account. And it is everything I gave them to go through and all they could come up with was, suspect funds! What is the definition of suspect funds? I don’t even have to tell my wife where I earn my money, I don’t know how many of you tell your wives,” he said.

Asked if he was desperate to be President, he said:

“I am not desperate about 2011, I have never been desperate about anything at all because if you follow my career you will not find any desperation. If I had been desperate, I would have been President long time ago. I wouldn’t have stepped down for Abiola in 1992, I wouldn’t have given Obasanjo a chance in 1998, I had the PDP in my hands (like this), I would have taken the nomination in my pocket and I wouldn’t have given him the chance in 2003 when everybody said come and take it over.”

“So, I am not desperate about it, I will wait for the right time, whenever God says is the right time and Nigerians say is the right time. I am not desperate about it. What am I looking for? I have money to eat till I die!”