You lied! FG hits Atiku, PDP over “mischievous” claim of airport intimidation

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Atiku

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*Says claim one of Atiku team’s resolutions at Dubai meeting

*…attempt to grab headlines

“This is a mischievous attempt to grab the headlines. Nigerians need to know that one of the resolutions of the Atiku team at their recently-concluded, opulently-held Dubai retreat was to embark on scaremongering. This is one of such.  For the records, all incoming passengers on international flights go through customs, Immigration, health and security screening.  Where the aircraft is using the private, charter wing, as the PDP candidate did, such arrivals are met by a team of the Immigration, customs and other security agencies. They go to the arriving aircraft as a team.”

 

The Federal Government of Nigeria, on Sunday, slammed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for lying against it with claim that its security operatives intimidated its Presidential Candidate 2019 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, upon his arrival from Dubai, United Arab Emirate capital, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Atiku, who had been in Dubai with some 400 PDP members holding a “strategy meeting” in the far away Arab country which has earned him and his party strong condemnations from Nigerians, had on Sunday alleged that he was searched and intimidated by combined team of airport security personnel at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

But the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, dismissed the PDP’s allegation of intimidation by the security operatives on Atiku as one that fell short of truth.

Reacting to the allegation in a statement copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER, Sirika, however, described Atiku’s complaint as a mischievous attempt aimed at attracting media attention, saying the search conducted on Atiku was a normal screening exercise being carried out on all passengers at the airport.

The statement read: “This is a mischievous attempt to grab the headlines. Nigerians need to know that one of the resolutions of the Atiku team at their recently-concluded, opulently-held Dubai retreat was to embark on scaremongering. This is one of such.

“For the records, all incoming passengers on international flights go through customs, Immigration, health and security screening.

“Where the aircraft is using the private, charter wing, as the PDP candidate did, such arrivals are met by a team of the Immigration, customs and other security agencies. They go to the arriving aircraft as a team.

“The airport authorities confirm that this is a routine process, applying to all international arrivals, including the minister unless the passenger is the President of Nigeria.

“The President, the Vice President and passengers aboard planes on the Presidential air fleet use the Presidential wing of the airport.

“It is also important to state that even in the Presidential Wing of the airport the President of Nigeria uses, there is the presence of Immigration and other security officials who must stamp his or her passport on arrival.’’

The minister further explained that by standard procedure, all aircraft on international arrivals must first of all park at the international wing of the aircraft.

He added that such aircraft could move to the domestic terminal only upon the completion of the arrival requirements.

“While it is true that the Task Force on Currency at the airport did the routine action of checking the former Vice President’s travel bag, he was accorded full respect as a senior citizen.

“These checks are mandatory, conventional, internationally applied and routine. No one is excused from them under our laws.

“These checks are carried out on all international arrivals and President Buhari does not get involved in them.

“Law-abiding citizens are encouraged to respect the laws of the country and our VIPs should not seek to be treated over and above the citizens they wish to serve.”

 


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