Buhari Never Banned From Entering America — Presidency

The Presidency has refuted claim by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar that President Muhammadu Buhari was banned from the United States for over 15 years.

In a swift response, the Presidency refuted the claim in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.

Mr Adesina said: “This fictive concoction being passed off as truth is mind boggling, coming from a former Number Two man of Nigeria, who should know the truth. 

“At no time was President Buhari, as a private person, ever forbidden from entering any country in the world. 

“Rather, the rest of the world has always held Muhammadu Buhari as a man of sterling qualities, strong on integrity, transparency and accountability. 

“The same testimony is still borne of the Nigerian President by many world leaders today.”

Throwing the ball straight back to Atiku, the Media Adviser noted: “It is curious that former VP Abubakar had been asked why he had not visited America for over a decade, something that had been a stubborn fact dogging his footsteps. 

“Instead of answering directly, he begged the question, saying Buhari also had been disallowed from entering the same country for 15 years, before becoming President.”

He, therefore, made it “resoundingly clear that what the former Vice President said only exists in the realm of his imagination. 

“If he has issues to settle with American authorities, he should do so, rather than clutch at a straw.”

The ex- Vice President was reported to have said, in an interview published Saturday, that “for about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations.”

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