Politics

10 Accounts Linked To Tinubu In US, $460,000 Deducted As Tax – Keyamo

Published

3 years ago

November 10, 2022

Although 10 accounts were linked to All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, by United States authorities in the early 90s, $460,000 were deducted from one of the accounts as tax on investments domiciled in US banks.

This was the submission of the Chief Spokesperson for the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

He was commenting on the controversy surrounding a document recently released by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said to have investigated Tinubu’s alleged involvement in narcotics and money laundering about 30 years ago.

The matter, which ended in a settlement, led to Tinubu’s forfeiture of $460,000 in one of the accounts linked to the former governor of Lagos State.

Keyamo said Tinubu took responsibility for all the 10 accounts because they were also traced to his mother and “relatives”.

He also said Tinubu was roped in the drug trafficking case of two Nigerians who once stayed in separate flats in the same building where the ex-governor stayed at a time in the US.

“He, Asiwaju, went to open an account, the address by which he opened the account was already used by these people…investigated for narcotics,” he said.

‘Not A Deliberate Act’
Keyamo further stated that Tinubu was an employee of Mobil Oil and not a treasurer of a drug cartel.

He explained that Tinubu deposited some funds in bank accounts in the US as investments and got returns on those investments.

The spokesman said the banks were supposed to deduct taxes from the investments but they did not and this was not a “deliberate act” on the part of Tinubu.

“The deposits he made there (in banks) are what bankers called investments; he kept the money there and he was getting interests. They (US government) said he had not paid tax on those interests. That is all and guess what? The banks are supposed to deduct the tax from source.

“Out of the 10 accounts, it was only one account – the one in Heritage Bank – that they took $460,000 as tax on interest that he benefited on the investment he made in those accounts.

“In fact, all the money in Heritage Bank was not taken; they took only $460,000 as tax,” said Keyamo, who is also the Minister of State, Labour and Employment.

‘PDP Went To The US To Dust Old Document’
Keyamo insisted that there was no criminal indictment or conviction against Tinubu, alleging that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was behind the reincarnation of the controversial court document.

“His (Tinubu’s) detractors kept bringing up these issues over and over when his political profile is rising, when he wants to run for office or any political turn in his life, they will bring up these issues,” Keyamo said.

“The date on the papers flying up and down, the date of certification is 2022, so they are using this to confuse people that these are fresh papers. If documents are 40 years old or 100 years old, once you go to court, and apply for certified true copies of those documents, they will give you those documents but they will stamp the day they are giving you those documents.

“This is what our detractors, the PDP, perhaps that is what they went to the US for when they pretended that they went for high-level engagement. This is part of the high-level engagement they went for.”

Tinubu, 70, is in the 2023 contest for Aso Rock’s top job alongside top contenders like PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party in the contest many analysts have described as a three-horse race.
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Politics

Probe Natasha’s Allegations Against Akpabio, Afenifere Urges FG

Published

18 hours ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has urged the Federal Government to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The call followed the Senate’s decision to lift Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.

This, Afenifere said should not overshadow the need to establish the truth of her claims.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Afenifere’s National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu, said the senator’s recall reflected commitment to the rule of law.

“We commend the Senate President, His Excellency Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate leadership for taking a decision that further reinforces the country’s rule of law,” Omololu said.

The group, however, insisted that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations must not be ignored.

“For over six months, where are the facts and evidence of her grave allegations?” Afenifere asked.

It called on the “Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to carry out a full investigation into the matter.”

Afenifere also recalled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s past false sexual harassment claims against former presidential aide Reno Omokri, which ended in an out-of-court settlement.

“Does this not suggest that, without proof, her allegations against Akpabio are suspicious?” Omololu asked.

The group further criticised Akpoti-Uduaghan for taking her claims to international media, including BBC, CNN, Sky News and Deutsche Welle, saying the move portrayed Nigeria negatively abroad.

It also queried her participation in a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York.

“If Natasha truly participated in the IPU meeting without due nomination, then it simply revealed her compromise or manipulation of our public institutions for pecuniary ends,” the group said.

In March 2025, Natasha was suspended for six months after a row in plenary and her petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.

She claimed the incident happened in December 2023, but the Senate’s Ethics Committee dismissed her petition on procedural grounds. Despite a court order halting disciplinary action, the Senate went ahead with her suspension, which also froze her pay and barred her from official duties.

Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged the suspension in court, insisting it was tied to her allegations. While the Senate said it acted over misconduct, the case attracted global attention after she granted interviews to international media. The matter remains unsettled, with Afenifere now urging federal authorities to investigate her claims.

Meanwhile, Natasha formally resumed her duties at the National Assembly on October 7, 2025, after her six-month suspension ended – and immediately claimed that Akpabio is a dictator.

And almost immediately, Akpabio’s media aide Kenny Okolugbo debunked the claim.

Politics

2027: Drama As Atiku Disowns Media Consultant Over Statement On Yoruba

Published

2 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denied any association with a media consultant named Kola Johnson.

This is as he also rejected statements released by the media consultant on Wednesday that he would protect Yoruba interests if elected as president in 2027.

Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that “faceless mercenaries” are behind the false press statement just to discredit him.

He also dismissed the claim as “false and offensive,” describing it as part of a calculated propaganda project to ridicule him in the media.

The statement specifically mentioned one Kola Johnson, described as a “self-styled media consultant,” who allegedly released a publication claiming that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group.

The statement read, “Our findings point directly to the Presidency, which, in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate fake stories and circulate unauthorised statements on Atiku.

“Particularly offensive is the false claim attributed to this individual that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group. This disinformation is part of a calculated propaganda project designed to ridicule Atiku in the media.

“Let it be clear: Atiku Abubakar has never engaged one Kola Johnson as a media consultant, aide, or associate. Any statement issued in that name is fake and should be disregarded. We urge media houses that have published such falsehoods to immediately retract them.”

The statement also clarified that authentic information on the former Vice President is only released through his Media Adviser or Special Assistant on Public Communications.

“Editors and media gatekeepers are strongly advised to verify with the Atiku Media Office before publication,” the statement added.

It was widely reported on Wednesday that Atiku has assured people of the South-West geo-political zone that their interest would remain central to his policy direction if elected President in 2027, noting that his long-standing marital and cultural ties to the region make him family.

The report quoted a statement by one, Kola Johnson, as saying that the former Vice President spoke during an engagement with select stakeholders.

The report said Atiku described the people of the South-West as one of the finest species of the human race, noting that his marriage to a Yoruba woman in the 1970s forged a permanent bond between him and the Yorubas.

He dismissed fears of Hausa/Fulani domination under his leadership as unfounded, insisting that the Yoruba were his larger extended family and in-laws.

The former vice president added that his Yoruba connections extend beyond family, as some of his closest friends and associates were from the region.

“In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman, in the 70s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years old, and we are still together.

“Besides, the Yoruba are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your peril,” Atiku stated. “My Ijesha-born Yoruba wife is more than a wife to me. Aptly put, she is my Jewel of Inestimable value and anybody who knows about my family, even from a distance, can easily tell you this.”

Politics

PHOTOS: Atiku, El-Rufai, Tambuwal, Others Attends ADC Meeting In Abuja

Published

2 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday attended a meeting of the African Democratic Congress coalition leaders in Abuja, alongside several prominent politicians.

Among those present were former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; ex-Minister of Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; ADC National Chairman and former Senate President, David Mark; former Kwara State governor, Abdulfatai Ahmed; and ex-Sokoto governor, Aminu Tambuwal.

In a post on his official X handle, Atiku described the gathering as part of efforts to resist what he called entrenched interests holding back Nigeria’s development.

He stated that the meeting was also against the oligarchs who promote poverty and insecurity in the country.

He wrote, “I am currently at the stakeholders meeting of the Coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja. It’s a meeting of the Nigerian people against the oligarchs who promote poverty and insecurity in the land.”

The ADC coalition was adopted in July by opposition politicians as the platform to challenge for power in the 2027 general elections.

The African Democratic Congress, originally formed in 2005 as the Alliance for Democratic Change, later changed its name to ADC and was officially registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2011. The party positioned itself as a centrist alternative to the dominant Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress.

Over the years, it has attracted defectors and reform-minded politicians seeking to build a third force in Nigeria’s political landscape.

Other members of the coalition include former PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus; 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; former House of Representatives Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha; ex-Kogi Central Senator, Dino Melaye, and a former National Chairman of the APC, Odigie Oyegun.