Adebanjo
Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo
Adebanjo, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of fighting corruption
the same way former President Olusegun Obasanjo did.
Adebanjo told our correspondent during
an interview that Obasanjo only fought corruption when he wanted to
crush his political opponents.
He said Obasanjo used the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission to harass all his political opponents under
the guise of fighting corruption.
The 88-year-old said Buhari had already started fighting corruption in a similar fashion.
Adebanjo
said this while reacting to an allegation by the Peoples Democratic
Party that the EFCC was only probing ex-PDP governors while ex-All
Progressives Congress governors like Babatunde Fashola and Rotimi
Amaechi, who had been accused of corruption, were being rewarded with
ministerial appointments.
The Afenifere leader said he would continue to support Buhari’s anti-corruption agency as long as it was fair and transparent.
He said, “When fighting corruption, you
must not be partisan. This particular one looks like a vendetta. He
should immediately make amends. This is obviously partisan and I am not
happy about that.
“We want a clean country. As Buhari
said, if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us. However, it
must not look like a vendetta. This was how Obasanjo did during his
time. He went after only those that were against his political ambition.
“Things like this could rubbish any anti-corruption campaign.”
Adebanjo urged the EFCC to investigate the ex-APC governors that had also been accused of corruption so as to ensure balance.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Ojo
federal constituency of Lagos State, Tajudeen Obasa, has urged Buhari
to fight corruption for sustenance of development and progress of the
nation.
Obasa appealed to him to beam his
searchlight beyond the members of the PDP for his fight against
corruption to look genuine and not be seen as political vendetta.
In a statement on Monday, he said the only way to defeat corruption was to block leakages and develop foolproof systems.
The statement read, “During the PDP’s
rule at the centre, Nigerians can attest to the fact that the majority
of those prosecuted for corruption were members of the PDP. Not that
there was no corruption in the opposition camp but for the fight against
corruption to be effective, the ruling party needs to clean inside
before coming outside to fight this ugly menace
“Several petitions are flying around
against members of the APC. The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders has
been calling for the probe of a former governor. Also, don’t let us
forget the allegation in Yobe State, what about Rivers State? I would be
glad if this fight against corruption is targeted at building a better
nation. Right now, it is just a jamboree to tame the opposition.”
PUNCH
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