Presidency Replies Atiku Over Dangote’s Appointment As Buhari’s Adviser

The Presidency has reacted to the criticisms trailing the appointment of billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, among members of the special advisory committee to President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, had in reaction to the announcement on Friday faulted the inclusion of Dangote and billionaire oil magnate Femi Otedola, among members of the Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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“These people are businessmen, not politicians. These are the kind of people Nigerians expect to see in the economic management team because of what they have done for this country,” said Atiku.

“He (Buhari) is simply out to blackmail them because by the time they fund his campaign, he will turn around and call them corrupt businessmen.

“Nigerians can now see for themselves what we have been talking about all this while and we call on them to vote out this grossly incompetent administration, whose stock in trade is blackmail of perceived enemies,” he said.

But in an ensuing statement, President Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, clarified that Mr Dangote is not a card carrying member of the APC but failed to explicitly state why the billionaire’s name was on the list of the appointees.

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Adesina said, “It has become imperative to further clarify the status of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, named under the sub-head ADVISORY MEMBERS in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council announced on Friday, December 28, 2018.

“Africa’s richest man, not being a card-carrying member of APC, cannot, and is not member of the PCC. He is also a member of the Peace Committee, and thus cannot be in a partisan campaign council.”

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