Buhari Constitutes Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption

Buhari Constitutes Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption

 President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has constituted a seven-member committee to advise him on his plans to tackle corruption, THISDAY can exclusively reveal.

Named as the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption, investigation by THISDAY reveals that the committee will be formally inaugurated this Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Members of the committee are drawn largely from the academia.
They are Professor Femi Odekunle, a professor of Criminology at the Ahmadu Bello University; Dr. (Mrs) Benedicta Daudu of the University of Jos; Professor Etannibi Alamika, a professor of Criminology and Sociology from the University of Jos; and Professor Sadia Radda also a professor of Criminology.

Others are Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), a professor of Law and a fierce commentator on national issues; Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, also a professor of Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies; and Mrs. Hadiza Bala Usman.

Curiously, no judge either sitting or retired made the list, a development that is causing disquiet among judges.

Many on the bench consider the president’s decision not to include one of their own in the committee as a vote of no confidence on the bench.

The president’s decision to exclude members of the bench from such an important committee may not be unconnected to his experience with the judiciary when he challenged three previous elections he contested in 2003, 2007 and 2011, a presidency source familiar with the development told THISDAY.

While challenging the results of presidential elections in which his opponents were declared winners, Buhari attended courts religiously and was able to assess judges closely.

He was said to have been disappointed with the way judges denied even the obvious while ruling against him.

THISDAY