‘Irresponsible and cheap’ – Saraki lambastes APC for linking him to Hushpuppi

Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has lashed out at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for linking him with fraudster, Ramon Olurunwa Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.

Saraki’s spokesman Yusuph Olaniyonu described the APC statement as “irresponsible and cheap politics.”

Saraki was reacting to a statement issued on Saturday by the deputy national spokesperson of the APC, Yekini Nabena.

“The EFCC, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and other sister agencies must investigate money laundering reports linking some PDP leaders and financiers to the Dubai-based international criminal ring,” Nabena said.

“That the PDP leadership turned Dubai into their ‘Strategic’ meeting place ahead of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria and ‘Hushpuppi’s’ affinity with the PDP leadership is not mere coincidence.”

Nabena wired his allegations around a picture Hushpuppi took with a few PDP chieftains which include former Senate president Bukola Saraki, Dino Melaye and former House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

Hushpuppi, arrested in June by Dubai police and extradited to United States, is facing allegations of internet fraud and money laundering.

Dubai Police said Hushpuppi gang was responsible for Dh1.6 billion (about N169 billion) fraud involving over 1.9 million victims. Items worth N15.845 billion (Dh 150 million) were also seized.

However, Saraki in an attempt to clear the air said “he has no form of association with the said suspect…and neither does he know him in any way.”

The former senate President said APC’s statement is “one of the ways by which our anti-graft agencies are weakened and why the fight against corruption in the country is often viewed with suspicion by the international community.”

“At this point, we call on the APC leadership to rein in the so-called Yekini Nabena and compel him to desist from making and circulating such malicious, odious and offensive claims,” the statement concluded.