US reacts to Atiku’s claim that Buhari was barred for religious consideration

macfranc007 December 17, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Omotayo Yusuf

- The US refused to comment on the allegation that President Buhari was barred from their country

- It said this was due to administrative reasons

- Atiku had said president Buhari was barred from entering US for 15 years

The United States government has refused to confirm or deny Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari was barred from entering their country.

The US also refused to discuss the issue of why the former vice president was denied visa.

Atiku in an interview with veteran journalist, Dele Momodu had said the issue of being denied the US visa was not a big concern as President Buhari was also denied visa for 15 years.

Atiku had said: “It is the sole prerogative of America to determine who they want in their country or not. I’m not running away from America. I applied but wasn’t issued a visa. However, they did not decline me categorically.

“They’ve only said my application is going through an administrative process. This is not peculiar to me. For about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of his religious considerations. I fly to different parts of the world, including Europe. If America wanted (to arrest) me, it would be so easy for them to reach out to their allies.”

The Punch however reports that the US refused to confirm or deny Atiku’s allegations.

The US department of states said it would not comment on the issue for administrative reasons.

He said: “Due to US privacy laws, visa cases are considered confidential. We do not discuss specific cases.”

Nick Sadoski who is a US official at the department of state in response to question about whether Atiku was free to enter the US or not said: “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything further to add at this time. Regarding questions about visas, due to US privacy laws, visa cases are considered confidential and we do not discuss private cases.”

Meanwhile, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress Charles Idahosa, revealed how Atiku missed the opportunity to become president in 2003.

NAIJ.com gathered that Idahosa said Atiku would have contested and possibly become the president in 2003 if former president Obasanjo had kept his promise to spend just a term in office.

Atiku versus Buhari: Who will win? - on NAIJ.com TV