DETECTIVES from the United States (U.S.) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the British Metropolitan Police are collaborating with their counterparts in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to stop corrupt Nigerians from contesting the April general elections.

Could this be the reason why some renowned corrupt leaders are dropping out of the presidential race?


http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/article_1.htm

I'll say a BOLD

YES!!

And all well meaning Nigerians would ordinarily be happy about this development but as usual many will be more interested in saying that OBJ is using it to fight his enemies.

If the only good thing that OBJ can do in his lifetime is to stop corrupt politicians from contesting the next election then Nigeria will be very grateful to him as we have had enough of these corrupt politicians that turn defenders of democracy the moment their dirty deals are exposed.

How will we be able to determine who is corrupt without personal vendetta coming into play?

Most corrupt people have never been brought to book!!!

Easyy I think that is the reason we are getting international help to help find evidence against all this corrupt leaders

OBJ is not fighting any corruption all he is doing is fighting his enemies else if really he is fighting corruption then he should answer the following questions.

If the President is truly fighting corruption, why has he been reluctant to take action on the N83billion embezzled in the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) under the chairmanship of Navy Commodore Olabode George, now the Director General of the PDP Presidential campaign Organisation which was uncovered by his own EFCC?

If President Obasanjo is truly fighting corruption, why has he not investigated why Nigerians still work and live in darkness after sinking over N1trillion on PHCN (A.K.A NEPA)?

When did Obasanjo start fighting corruption? Is it after the Ministry of Energy (formerly Petroleum) which he, the President personally supervised for seven years, and in the view of many, a cesspit of corruption where after over $300million investment, there is no single refinery functioning?

Did Obasanjo start fighting corruption before or after the use of the Presidential jet by his aide, Andy Uba to smuggle $170,000 into the United States and the use of $55,000 of the smuggled money to import farm equipment for Obasanjo farms?

Did the President’s war against corruption begin after some top government officials, allegedly creamed the public treasury of a princely sum of N30billion kick-back from the debt-buy back initiative.

President Obasanjo, in his recent pronouncements has tried to divert public attention from these questions by claiming to have jailed or removed some people from office on account of corruption. The question is: Does fighting corruption confer a privilege of impunity on anyone to engage in monumental corruption?

If the President is sincerely fighting against corruption, would it matter to him to investigate the more that N300billion wasted on federal roads without anything to show; the fraud, rigging, gerrymandering and molestation that characterised the primaries in his own party, the PDP?; the commandeering of INEC Direct Capture Machines by chieftains of his own party, used at their homes for the register of ghost voters?.

mazaje interesting but I wonder if there is any accuracy to all that post? i will be curious to see if OBJ is probe and

investigated after his tenure. I wonder if there is hope for Nigerians? we have leaders who are career criminals using

pen to steal billions from this country.

@majaze

Those who posted those trash on PM News are those who wished corruption was never fought. Ok Obj is corrupt agreed.
Maybe he should sit back and never talk of anti-corruption cos he is corrupt himself, maybe no Nigerian leader after OBJ should even talk of anti-coruption if they are not corrupt.
The point here is, in a society where 98% percent of elite politicians are corrupt. How long shall we wait for this Mr. Clean that will fight coruption when it is even obvious that the decent people amongst us will hardly find there way to the top.

Majaze, this is not about hypocrisy, this is about finding a perculiar solution to our perculiar problems. Yes there are the questions of Andy Uba and Bode George, but you got to understand that leadership of a nation is not white and black anywhere in the world and so too is politics.  May be this president needs some of these guys to remain in power.

Someone once said why cant Ribadu investigate the dollar smugling scandal, and i said to him. If he does, OBJ will go down and Atiku will take over whose first policy will be to scrap the EFCC. Tell me how a young EFCC that has its survival at the moment cos of the support it enjoys from the presidency  bring down the same  president. It is impracticable.

You got to realise that Nigerians are very cunning, the moment they are in EFCC net. they tell you they did not greet the president the previous night that is why they are being persecuted. All this while Gbenga Daniel has been OBJ's boy but if he is brought to book by EFCC they will fabricate one offence Gbenga commited against OBJ that led to his prosecution.

Maybe the fight against corruption is not successful, maybe its selective and i dont wish to argue about that. But the point is that OBJ's resolute stance against corruption and Ribadu's dedication has brought a change in our values.

Sometimes I wonder if OBJ had maintained the status quo and maybe initiate a transition programme that will see the emergence of IBB or Atiku. Would he have been this unpopular? would we have heard he had only 20,000 in 1999? would we have heard of transcorp?

Call it vindictiveness or stubonness or whatever, but I think the attitude was necessary and I totally agree with Bode George who said OBJ has given Nigeria a second independence. At least we now know the injustice perpetrated by the elite class (including OBJ) on Nigerians.

@McKren
He is not as unpopular as you think. He has his supporters. They just don't make as much noise on the forums as the Atiku and IBB supporters cause they are mostly busy using the revitalised economy to find their feet.

@Mckren,

Very well said. In a country where virtually all aspect of life has been corrupted and the
prerequisite for becoming a successful politician is to be corrupt, they are waiting for Mr.
100% Clean before we can begin to address corruption.

Oh, by the way, Obasanjo looted N50trillion to build his presidential library and another
$5billion to build his private university. The country's champion of democracy and prudent
governance is squeaky clean and built his empire purely on hard work and good luck - that
will make a nice Nollywood rag to riches movie

My prediction: If Atiku is not careful he will be in jail come May 31st. He doesn't strike me
as someone that will accept the presidential results except he is declared winner. You and
I know Obasanjo will rather commit suicide than live to see that happen. Atiku will start
kicking and screaming, and will get to the point of posing a security threat to the nation -
Yar Adua will have him locked up. Watch this drama unfold. . .

I share the same sentiments, I feel the only thing separating Atiku from a well deserved place at Kirikiri is the immunity he enjoys.

On the selective nature of the fight against corruption, you cannot fight on all fronts and it will be suicidal for anyone to start or concentrate such fight on friends and relations when you have both real and perceived enemies involved in corruption.

Interesting, that was the only issue I have with Atiku.  why does it take this long for him to start bringing all this allegations against his boss?

I've question his loyalty to the presidency from day one.  OBJ might not be a clean as we all think he is but at least he is the 1st president to tackle the issue of corruption in Nigeria.  He helped stopped people like IBB from contesting the election and that is good for Nigerian progression

read the sun times. IBB time is near. he will be cooling his heels in KIRIKIRI and eating GARY and cold beans soon

MAMAJAMA:

read the sun times. IBB time is near. he will be cooling his heels in KIRIKIRI and eating GARY and cold beans soon

@ odeku i thought it was you that said that reading the sun news papers was a waste of time?

@ topic
Personally, and I believe so many people will agree with me that OBJ has no right to point who is corrupt and who isnt? he is very very corrupt and has no right to say that any body is corrupt. when general Buhari was doing his war against indicipline there were no sacred cows. there was no impunity and thats what we all want. howcan you steal billions of naira and convict others for stealing hundred of millions of naira, is that sense? why steal at all if you really are against stealing,  did i hear somebody say practise what you preach?

I remember when i the former minister of finance(Nogozi iweala) was put in charge of the foreign affiars ministry and she dicoverd a scam that involed some of OBJ's men he was quick to rise and say that he found the report faulty and no investigation was carried out. if it were one of the vice presidents aides it would have made news now as one of the victorys of the EFCC and war aginst corruption. what the hell is this?if Buhari and Jerry Rowlings can fight corruption with little or no impunity i see no reason why OBJ too can't if he is really out to fight it remember before the 3rd term saga no body knew that  Atiku was corrupt ,OBJ personally attacked his own son for coming out in the newspapers and saying that atiku is corrupt.

Remeber when the going was good nobody knew about all this revelation we are knowing now. I strongly believe that if Atiku was loyal and wasnt against the tenure extention i bet u all that no allegation of corruption would have been levelled against him. remember during the first tenure we all knew that they were all stealing but nothing was ever said because the going was good then, Atiku said it himself that OBJ wanted to drop him as his running mate for the second tenure but when he realised he was a very formidable force he decided to hang on and run along with him. the question is this if OBJ was really against corruption why didnt he drop Atiku even though he didnt like him as a running mate?why didnt he tell us all that Atiku was corrupt then until when the 3rd term saga began? so is that what you guys are calling corruption fighting?

The kettle has no right to call the pot black i never accept half baked bread its either its properly baked or not baked at all. I have read so many reports from the transparecy international saying that Nigeria highest corruption takes place in the presidency(who is the head of the presidency?), why isnt OBJ fighting that? the bottom line is this

IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT CORRUPTION BE CORRUPT FREE AND FIGHT IT WITHOUT IMPUNITY THEN ONLY WILL YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT OF EVERY BODY AND ONLY THEN  WILL THINGS TURN AROUND 

I rest my case

Point of correction it was IDIAGBON war against indiscipline nad not BUHARI.  BUhari was a figure head, even IDIAGBON had flaws.  He banned any administrator or government official from going to MECCA with their KIDS.  But guess what when he returned to Nigeria his son accompanied him to MECCA.  No one is saying OBJ is clean, but this epidemic that is killing Nigerians has to be addressed and tackle by someone why not now.

@mazaje I can clearly see your point but at the same time you don't pulled out all your teeth because they hurt, you take it one at a time. so lets start with ATIKU. are you related to BIGB1? hope the Niger Delta people nova get hold of my friend

If these "corrupt Nigerians" were all prosecuted and convicted, they wouldn't be able to apply in the first place.

@Iyke-D

The pics shows Atiku talking to American journalists and accusing a government he is part of, of planning to declare a state of emergency in other to extend its tenure. That already amounts to a threat to National Security and that is what this VP is constituting himself into.
Thus a second dimension to your prediction could also be, the appeal court or supreme court voiding his seat as VP in the interest of National Security. Afterwhich he will be arrested and put behind bars during election. Yaradua will now probably grant him amnesty by 1st october this year during independence day celebration.

prosecuted does not guarantee conviction in Nigeria.  Look at the case in Ibadan someone standing trial in police custody was declare a senator.  Now where is the justice in this nation of ours?

The point I am trying to make is.  if we can reduce the corruption in Nigeria by 10% I think we are doing outstanding and OBJ has exceeded this % in my book, what have his predecessor done in the past to tackle the issue? Nothing

I have nothing against this move. It will definitely help our nation.

But my problem is with Mkren

Mr Mckren: Could you please let us know the different between inviting a neutral body to assist us during the coming presidential election and inviting FBI and other international help to stop corrupt Nigerians from contesting the April election?

I will reserve my comment till I hear from you.

@Seun: No

If these "corrupt Nigerians" were all prosecuted and convicted, there wouldn't be anyone left to contest.

They are all corrupt; and that is the problem.

Big B1 so are you saying we should let them contest since they are not convicted?

How can we trust this people not to do it again? there is a saying if you fool me twice shame on me.

@Big B1

FBI and other international security agencies were not invited to investigate questions of corruption in Abuja, Minna or Adamawa. The EFCC is only seeking their help to trace funds in their own country. And that is totally different from your call for a foreign nation to conduct our election in our own country.
However if the Government wish to do this it will come from the apprpriate quaters and not in response to a disident VP.

how come you are only picking on that aspect of that news. I will like to assume you also saw the aspect of the news that says IBB recieved a letter from the French government regarding his loot several days before he step down from PDP primaries. Which corroborates my earlier position that stepping down for yaradua for whatever reasons is only a smokescreen.

@BigB1
Where have you been all this while you have been a bit scarce.

damn, I am loving this discursion, Oya BigB1 please respond asap, we are waiting for you.

INfact, Atiku has failed the country. Going abroad, to open naija yansh na big minus for am. He is trying to fiight for coruption, like he said, then let him do it in his country. All Courrupt leaders, God no go let them see the post sef. presently God dey vex with them.

VICE-President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday in Abuja made a fresh allegation against President Olusegun Obasanjo, accusing him of ordering the purchase, a few days ago, of arms and ammunition worth $2 billion for the military to suppress Niger-Delta militants.


Vice-President Abubakar made the accusation at the inauguration of his presidential campaign office which he named Democracy House and the inauguration of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC), headed by Alhaji Lawal Kaita.


“A few days ago, the president ordered the purchase of arms and ammunition worth $2 billion for the military to suppress the people of the Niger-Delta,” Abubakar alleged.


Atiku, while speaking at the event, attended by the Lagos State governor, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu; national chairman of Action Congress (AC), Chief Bisi Akande; former national chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomon Lar and Chief Audu Ogbeh and other top Nigerians reiterated that the huge amount was not meant for the development of the Niger-Delta.


According to the AC presidential candidate, the money was meant to buy arms and ammunition to suppress the Niger-Delta

IS'NT IT ABOUT TIME THE LIKES OF TINUBU AND AUDU OGBE CAME TO THEIR SENSES DONT YOU THINK THIS VICE PRESIDENT NEEDS HIS HEAD EXAMINING.?
NA WAOOOO

@McKren,

You beat me to it, I could only shake my head when I read this. Its good for us
though, he is overplaying his hand - gradually some of his supporters will begin
to realize their grave errors in rooting for a mad megalomaniac of a man!

Simply put, he honestly believe that he is bigger than the republic of Nigeria, and
so could compromise the security of the state as long as it benefits him. Bring it
on Atiku!

I think Atiku is more interested in "getting revenge" on OBJ. This whole saga is a disgrace to our nation.
With accusations regarding arms and other nonesense its a miracle the whole country has not desended into civil war.
Can someone please explain Atikus main reason for running for president? What is he looking for?

Desperation Mode
=============
Sure, and in his quest for glory or revenge, he will endanger the security of the country
as well. Wow, announce to the whole world that your country just signed off on a deal
to purchase $2billion worth of arms for its defense - what a dumb a?s?s.

Going to jail is this guys' biggest fear - Obasanjo had already conquered that fear, been
there done that. Atiku is the one that should be concerned for his own hide. There is
no amount of revenge he can unleash on Obasanjo because he holds the trump card -
he will make sure that Atiku never smell Aso Rock again, at least not in 2007.

I am still enraged that he was allowed to retain his VP perks after leaving the party to join another party and then running round the world exposing what he should not be exposing.

If hes not careful with his loose mouth I wont be suprised if someone puts a bullet into him soon. He is a dangerous useless greedy man.

No one will kill ATIKU, wait and see if ATIKU spend one more night after the election in Nigeria. May 30th RIbadu will be looking for him every where to

show him the way to KIRIKIRI. Counter is the best offense you can have. All ATIKU is interested in doing is damaging OBJs character. Even if obj was as

corrupt as been portrayed by ATIKU, why did he not resigned and tell the whole world the story before now? that tells you ATIKU is one selfish man. The

only reason I can see for him trying to contest is to protect his ass. we all know what happened after immunity is gone. FAYOSE was making all that

noise in EKIKI where is he now? DARIYE was making all that noise where is he now?