Former Director of Strategy and Communications to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Jackson Ude, has berated the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, over his comments on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s United States immigration status.
Okechukwu, who challenged Atiku during the week to come clean on his US immigration status, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant would not be able to address insecurity in the country if elected, as he is unable to go to the US.
Ude, a staunch supporter of the former vice president, said it was a height of ignorance for Okechukwu to equate visiting the United State to good governance in the face of a collapsed economy, divided country and insecurity.
The former presidential aide argued Atiku has no immigration status to prove to either Okechukwu or anyone as he is not an American, a permanent resident or seeking any immigration favours from the United States.
According to him: “Atiku only applied for US visa like every other person and was denied and that does not confer on him any immigration status”.
He argued US denial of an entry visa to Atiku has become a political tool to blackmail the former vice president, saying if the US government has criminal charges against him, he would have been extradited to face charges.
Ude said what Nigerians should be more concerned about is who would pull the country out of the wood under President Buhari, saying Atiku has all it takes to be a better choice based on his records and tentacles across the country.
“I live in the United State; I am a conversant with the immigration laws. I followed Atiku’s court case at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and I have the court records
“Nowhere did it indicted Atiku for a crime, if it did, Atiku would have been facing the wrath of the law in the US
“What Nigerians need now is a unifier and a competent leader whose actions and body language would not polarize the country, pitching tribes, ethnicity and religion against each other,” he stressed.
