As President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption continues, anti-graft agencies struggle to convince Nigerians that it is not selective, GBENRO ADEOYE writes

Many Nigerians have come to the realisation that corruption is a major challenge standing between the country and a good life for the citizens, hence their support for President Muhammadu Buhari, who many have dubbed as the “new sheriff in town”.

The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was largely derided by the public for its perceived failure in fighting corruption. The former President’s body language towards graft was often described in the media as permissive. The posture and antecedents of Buhari, a former military head of state, gave Nigerian masses the picture of a new sheriff coming on board to clean up the mess of past administrations.

His inaugural speech, in which he stated that he belonged to “everybody” and to “nobody” also endeared the President to some Nigerians, who were initially unsure of what to make of a septuagenarian president with dictatorial tendencies.

One thing is sure though, if the work of anti-graft agencies in Nigeria is in tandem with the President’s body language, then it can be said that Buhari’s body speaks louder than that of his predecessor, as anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, have suddenly been spurred into action.

However, about five months into Buhari’s government, some analysts have already concluded that his body seems to be speaking a language different from that of his utterances.

While Buhari’s utterances avow that there would be no sacred cow in his war against corruption, the country’s anti-graft agencies have been perceived to be selective.

One of such persons is the Executive Chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, whose organisation has petitioned the EFCC, ICPC, the President and Senate President alleging corruption and financial misappropriation against former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and a former Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, both of who made Buhari’s list of ministerial nominees.

Adeniran told our correspondent that he had reasons to believe that while the President’s anti-corruption war has been going after some people, Buhari has been protecting persons like Fashola and Adeosun from the arms of the law.

A former Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; and a former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, also made Buhari’s ministerial nominees’ list in spite of several petitions written to various anti-graft agencies against them.

Meanwhile, some others including Senate President Bukola Saraki; his wife, Toyin; a former Kebbi State Governor, Saidu Dakingari; his wife, Zainab; a former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio; a former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, have all been questioned by anti-corruption agencies.

“We have started writing petitions against Fashola to the EFCC and the ICPC since 2010,” Adeniran said.

“We have written about six or seven petitions and each time we wrote to the EFCC, we also wrote to the ICPC because the allegations concern both agencies. Recently, we sent a summary of our petitions to these agencies to the President for him to know what had been going on, so that he would be able to instruct the agencies to work on them. But he chose to nominate them as ministers.

“So till now, we believe that the President is interfering with the process of investigating Fashola and Adeosun, his nominee from Ogun State, who has a lot of corruption baggage hanging on her neck from her days as the Commissioner for Finance in the state. Buhari didn’t seem to have given credence to any of the allegations when he was nominating them.”

CACOL’s allegations against Fashola and Adeosun include corruption, misappropriation of public funds and contract inflation.

Adeniran has however threatened to sue the anti-graft agencies for their failure to investigate the duo based on the petitions against them.

In the same vein, a pressure group in Rivers State, The Integrity Group, wrote to a petition to the President, accusing Amaechi of N70bn fraud.

The group accused Amaechi and other functionaries of his administration of ‘’corruption, criminal breach of trust, unlawful enrichment and conversion of over N70bn state resources.”

Among other allegations, the former Governor was accused of fraudulent sale of Rivers State power assets and conversion of proceeds amounting to N60.48bn and unlawful enrichment of Messrs Collect Solutions (Nig.) Limited with public funds to the tune of N1.56bn.

Also, a Justice George Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which was recently set up by the Rivers State Government to look into the sale of valued assets belonging to the state, found Amaechi and some others responsible for misappropriating state funds to the tune of N97bn.

But there are no indications that Amaechi has been invited for questioning by the any of the anti-corruption agencies.

On September 29, 2014, a group, Save Ekiti Coalition, alleged that Fayemi misappropriated N20bbn as Ekiti State Governor in a petition it sent to the EFCC and the ICPC.

The petition, which was signed by the group’s secretary, Mr. Oke Ayodele, called for Fayemi’s investigation and prosecution, but there has been no record that the former governor has been called for questioning by any of the agencies.

Fashola, Amaechi, and Fayemi all contributed in various ways to Buhari’s success at the poll and experts have described their ministerial nominations and perceived exclusion from the probe list of anti-graft agencies as the reward for their labour.

The former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, has been questioned by the EFCC over financial offences committed while in office between 2007 and 2011. But since Sylva’s defection from the PDP to the APC, the anti-graft agency seems to have slowed down its pace in prosecuting the former governor, allegedly because of his political strength in the party.

To reward Sylva for his loyalty to the APC, he emerged as the party’s governorship candidate in Bayelsa State.

A similar case to Sylva’s is that of former Kogi State Governor, Abubakar Audu, who also recently emerged as the APC governorship candidate in the state.

Audu is facing a 32-count charge which includes stealing, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of about N11bn, but he was his party’s preferred candidate in spite of its anti-corruption war.

A lawyer and social commentator, Mr. Liborous Oshoma, described the situation as wrong, saying that the President has been employing double standard in his fight against corruption.

He said that anti-graft agencies under Buhari’s government have only been seen to acting on petitions against his political opponents and the like.

He said, “Everyone with allegations should be invited for questioning and those who are bringing the allegations should come to substantiate their petitions and if they are weighty, they should be taken before the appropriate authorities.

“Don’t act like some persons are the only people who are corrupt while the others are not. What that tells some of us is that we are not serious about fighting corruption.”

Meanwhile, the EFCC has acted on petitions filed by a lawyer, Mr. Leo Ekpenyong, against Akpabio, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party, by inviting him for interrogation.

In the petition titled, ‘Petition against former Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State for gross and uncommon abuse of public trust’, Ekpenyoung accused Akpabio of diverting taxpayers’ money for personal use.

Before Akpabio’s invitation, operatives of the Department of State Services had in September 2015 searched the Akwa Ibom State House, in a move allegedly aimed at getting implicating evidence to link Akpabio to illegality.

Saraki is currently facing a 13-count charge of corruption and false declaration of asset at the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja.

Although, he is a member of the APC following his defection from the PDP, his prosecution has largely been seen by the public as a witch-hunt for going against the dictates of his party to emerge as Senate President.

Recently, Dakingari, a PDP member, was arrested by the EFCC over allegations of misappropriating N3.8bn public fund. His wife, Zainab, was also accused of laundering N2bn for her husband.

However, the PDP through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, accused Buhari of making the corruption war selective, saying it was targeted at members of his party.

But while Adeniran was in support of the investigation of the likes of Saraki and Dakingari for corruption, he said that CACOL was against the selective anti-corruption war, which seems to be overlooking some other people accused of graft.

He said, “All along, we have been expecting that the President would act beyond rhetoric on some of the petitions that have been pending with the anti-corruption agencies.”

Adeniran said his organisation had sent not less than six petitions each to the EFCC and the ICPC without concrete outcome.

He said, “High ranking Lagos State officials were questioned and interrogated by the EFCC around 2012. The agency has said that it has a discreet report but this has not been made available to us.

“We have demanding that the agency should let the world know the outcome of its investigation, even if it is that Fashola is not guilty. We should know why the agency thinks that he is not guilty. All of the projects Fashola did were at very high costs that are unrealistic anywhere in the world.”

On Adeosun, Adeniran said CACOL had also written to the EFCC and the ICPC to draw their attention to the alleged inflation of the costs of purchasing some Armoured Personnel Carriers bought in Ogun State while she Commissioner for Finance.

He therefore described the alleged selective probe by the current administration as bad for the country’s development.

“We are dissatisfied with the way the anti-corruption war is being fought and we are afraid that we may not achieve anything better than what we had before Buhari assumed office.

“Most of the people he is bringing to work with him are noisemakers who execute more projects in the media than they do in reality.”

Oshoma also expressed concern about the President’s anti-corruption war, saying his hope that the war would be better in Buhari’s had been dashed.

“We had expected a holistic approach but what we see is a far cry from that, so I’m not impressed with all of these gimmicks to fight corruption,” he said.

“When Saraki was charged before the code of conduct tribunal, I was one of those who said that he should step aside and answer to those charges and clear his name. In the same vein, I maintain that if a former governor, senator or any other person has a petition against him, irrespective of how spurious or irrelevant it is, it should be looked into and a conclusion must be reached.

“The world has moved beyond the argument that people can hold political positions once they have not been convicted. Where we are now is that if there are allegations hanging on your character, you should go and clear yourself before you hold any political office.”

Source: http://punchng.com/2015/10/2757

The scales are gradually falling off their eyes

The blood of the kworrupt fiffle they hunted will also hunt down and even bury the untouched kworrupt fiffle in their government, and the blood of innocent Nigerians would judge them all.








Amen

Okay

When will all these knocks stop? Indeed, uneasy lies on the head that wears the crown.

Buhari is an aged con artist. He used the head of his zombie followers. And most of them are now facing the reality

Lemme read first

Buhari ia not fighting any corruption, he has already gotten what he wants. If you dont like it go and die

However, about five months into Buhari’s government, some analysts have already concluded that his body seems to be speaking a language different from that of his utterances.

'nuff said. I laugh when I hear "ANTI kworupsion" war.

You want to fight corruption with the likes of Amaechi, Saraki and Tinubu... Zombies!!!

I will pight kwaruption if pvoted. Dem don vote you now, you dey arm the thief wen dey APC but dey persecute the once wen dey PDP. Before this time next year everybody eyes go don open. For me I know say Buhari + Apc = scam

Pls can u summarize all this buhari says,buhari does......

Only Nigeria's enemies see nothing wrong in Buhari's
show of shame with respect to fighting corruption.
He make so much noise in the media , yet he tries
every means to protect his corrupt party people.

If u r a serious Nigerian and u what make e better for dis Con3... Never take d PUNCH and VANGUARD news serious...

They now pick their stories from twitter n facebook

I have said it before, just be in their midst and you can steal as you like. Nobody cares, nobody talks. They praise fashola, Amaechi, Audu and sylva etc but they call saraki a thief. That is the class of zombie they have become. This will only bring us back to the inglorious era of do or die politics.

Punch never receive their monthly bribe abi na wetin?


Buhari today na 31st ooo!

The CHODE below me thinks his support counts!!!

Let it be selective, what's important is that the job is being done.

By the time Baba is done hunting down his perceived witches, the next admin comes in and does same and we have a succession of witches hunting governments, before you know it, Nigeria would become a country devoid of witches.

At least by that time, we wouldn't have Witches and Wizards endorsing presidential candidates like they did Jonathan anymore.

Baba has my support in this glorious campaign 100%!!

Don't be conned, buhari is chief currupt officer..

It is very obvious dat PMB is not ready to fight corruption holistically. He is only enjoyin his witch hunting game.
Come to think of it, maybe dis is another strategy of the APC to draw more pdp members 2 dier side wit d mouth watering offer of "join us and ur corruption cases shall be 4given".

buhari is not in control of this govt, some extremist are the ones telling the efcc where to shoot.

make no mistake buhari is also corrupt.

buhari is not in control of this govt, some extremist are the ones telling the efcc where to shoot.

make no mistake buhari is also corrupt.

Buhari is an illiterate. El Rufai

omenka:
Let it be selective, what's important is that the job is being done.

By the time Baba is done hunting down his perceived witches, the next admin comes in and does same and we have a succession of witches hunting governments, before you know it, Nigeria would become a country devoid of witches.

At least by that time, we wouldn't have Witches and Wizards endorsing presidential candidates like they did Jonathan anymore.

Baba has my support in this glorious campaign 100%!!

Try to be reasonable here, when he is done with fighting corruption and manipulating the judicary so that his party will control most states, there won't be any opposition party again where the masses will fall to checkmate them and i dont see him fighting corruption against his party members. When this is achievied, there will be only one political party, even if you later see them as corrupt, you ve no choice bt to vote for them. If u don't they will still win cos the now ve the system under their control. You will only have an oppostion party when the members of (Apc) not the masses start getting tired of the party due to their selfish interest jst like PDP. The system will keep on moving in cycle and the masses keep suffering. I pity this country.

TruthisGOD:
Try to be reasonable here, when he is done with fighting corruption and manipulating the judicary so that his party will control most states, there won't be any opposition party again where the masses will fall to checkmate them and i dont see him fighting corruption against his party members. When this is achievied, there will be only one political party, even if you later see them as corrupt, you ve no choice bt to vote for them. If u don't they will still win cos the now ve the system under their control. You will only have an oppostion party when the members of (Apc) not the masses start getting tired of the party due to their selfish interest jst like PDP. The system will keep on moving in cycle and the masses keep suffering. I pity this country.

U nailed it.. Let the zombies keep living in denial.

What else do expect from a revengeful fulani gworo-chewing president other than witch hunting a perceived weak enemy called GEJ.
Crime we all know has no time factor but buhari has limited his war against corruption only on weak GEJ. In other words billions of dollars spent on power reform by Obasanjo and his cronies,Halliburton scandal and so many others are no long crime or they have elapsed over time. Buhari has demonstrated vindictive justice from time immemorial and you expect him to stop at old age,who stops a habit at old age? Buhari I guess,that what his blind followers want us to believe. Cry from now till tomorrow, there wont be any justice for the perceived enemies.
We waited for solid 5 months for cabinet list only to be furnished with corruption personified nominees in the persons of Fashola,Amachi and so many others. Buhari once told us that Abacha was not corrupt contrary to world bank's report.

On good governance and employment. Many jobless nairalanders that are agents of this fraud called change will be utterly disappointed beyond imagination because buhari has no blue print for good governance other than occupy the seat and decimate perceived enemies of the north. I want you to ask yourselves,what other good has this man done to help his locals and Nigeria at large since he left power in the eighties except promising the blood of baboons to Nigeria? GEJ that barely left power has been the face of new democracy in many African countries.

On GEJ and his Ijaw brothers, Amechi and Edwin clark have done what they are best known for ,betrayal. What baffles me most is how on earth will Edwin clark,who is at exit lounge, sacrifice his son GEJ on the alter of self interest. What does he stand to gain, oil well?

We are watching in 30D

The truth is that Buhari belong to some people and not everybody. His insincerity is legendary

TonyeBarcanista:
The truth is that Buhari belong to some people and not everybody. His insincerity is legendary

Gbam!
Oga you don wake up? I salute from my side.

PRYCE:
Punch never receive their monthly bribe abi na wetin?


Buhari today na 31st ooo!

The CHODE below me thinks his support counts!!!

Like he said, at the fullness of time

BENZINA:
Gbam!
Oga you don wake up? I salute from my side.

Good morning sir! Yes, I don wake up....

I salute you from all sides.

erunz:
I will pight kwaruption if pvoted. Dem don vote you now, you dey arm the thief wen dey APC but dey persecute the once wen dey PDP. Before this time next year everybody eyes go don open. For me I know say Buhari + Apc = scam

pdp is worst than a scam, ur clueless corrupt gej were protecting both pdp and apc criminals, every single soul in pdp are corrupt plus few apc, what stop efcc under gej to witch hunt his opponent like sylva and prince audu, if every govt witch hunt their opponent, fight against corruption wil be half solve, plssssss my PMB, witch hunt everyone in pdp both d saint and d devil.

PRYCE:
Punch never receive their monthly bribe abi na wetin?


Buhari today na 31st ooo!

The CHODE below me thinks his support counts!!!

The reporter will be probed