Atiku Was Given Temporary Relieve Ban Because he may Become Nigeria's Next President - US Say

The Peoples Democratic Party's presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was given a temporary suspension of the travel ban kinked to decade old bribery scandals which spanned over 12 years.

The U.S. government officials said the travel ban was waived temporarily by the U.S. State Department after some lobbyists mounted a campaign among congressional lawmakers. They had argued that the administration should not snub the leading challenger to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 16 election.

He was given a temporary relieve because he could be the next president of Nigeria.

One person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Atiku was allowed to enter because the United States saw little benefit to creating bad blood with the man who might be the next leader of Africa's most populous nation and the continent's biggest oil producer.

Lobbyists hired by Atiku said they sought to overcome resistance at the State Department by securing support from members of Congress for the visit, as well as arguing that the top U.S. official for African affairs, Assistant Secretary Tibor Nagy, had an obligation to encourage democracy in the seventh most populous country in the world.

"Assistant Secretary Nagy was pleased to meet with him and share the U.S. government's expectations that Nigeria's elections be free, fair, transparent, and peaceful, and reflect the will of the Nigerian people," a State Department official said, stressing the department had not requested the waiver.