The immediate past President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has replied the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, declaring that facts may have deserted Asiwaju faster than Usain Bolt, reports ITRealms.
Tinubu, ITRealms recalls had during his address at the presentation of a book titled,
“Making Steady Sustainable Progress” authored by President Muhammadu Buhari’s
media aides at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, alleged that Jonathan’s administration institutionalised corruption in Nigeria.
Height of which was that during Dr. Jonathan's “So
much money grew feet and ran away faster than Usain Bolt ever could and that
his administration won gold medal in corruption," however said that facts have
rather deserted the APC leader faster than Usain Bolt."
But reacting to the claims, the former president through his former aide and bestselling author, Pastor Reno Omokri, said that under his administration, that the only global body for monitoring
corruption, Transparency International, had published in its annual corruption
index, showing Nigeria made an eight(8) points improvement in corruption
reduction, haven moved from 144 to 136 then.
Pointed out that in a press statement made available to ITRealms that “other than media
sensationalism, there have been no convictions of financial misappropriation
stemming from the Jonathan era,” challenging Tinubu or anybody in APC to
counter Jonathan’s statement in 2014 that he has no bank account abroad.
Also, Jonathan, in the statement said Tinubu mistook what he
described as the “Usain Bolt speed” at which the current ruling APC government
smuggled back into the country, the embattled former Chairman of the Pension
Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina whom the previous government under
Jonathan had dismissed and declared wanted, only for the APC-led government to
reinstate him, even with a promotion, for what he said is the “unproven claims
of corruption under Jonathan.”
The statement reads thus:
“Again my attention has been drawn to disparaging comments
made by Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu against former President Goodluck Jonathan and
his administration.
In the said comments, Mr. Tinubu said “The prior government
used the public treasury as a private hedge fund or a charity that limited its
giving only to themselves,” he said.
“So much money grew feet and ran away faster than Usain Bolt
ever could. That which could have been spent on national development was
squandered in ways that would cause the devil to blush.”
Speaking further, the former Lagos State Governor said:
“Boko Haram would have taken more territory and more lives
would have been lost to insurgency if Jonathan had remained in power.”
I would now address these allegations point by point using
verifiable facts.
First of all, the only global body for monitoring corruption
is Transparency International which releases an annual Corruption Perception
Index.
It is a fact that Nigeria made her most improvement in
Transparency International‘s annual Corruption Perception Index In 2014 under
President Jonathan when we moved from 144 to 136 representing an improvement of
8 points.
Transparency International observed the Jonathan
administration’s fight against the corruption in Nigeria’s fertilizer
procurement regime, the use of technology to remove 50,000 Federal ghost
workers and the speed at which the then President fired ministers accused of
corruption or conflict of interests.
From that time till today, Nigeria has not made any
improvements and has remained at 136 where Jonathan left us because
Transparency International deals with facts, not opinions or media trial.
Other than media sensationalism, there have been no
convictions of financial misappropriation stemming from the Jonathan era.
However, we do know that it is a fact that the allegedly
corrupt pension thief, Abdulrasheed Maina, was dismissed and declared wanted by
the Jonathan administration.
We also now know that it is a fact that the present Attorney
General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, met with Maina in Dubai. We know
that Maina’s family revealed in a press conference that Maina was invited back
to Nigeria by the present government. It is also a fact that Maina was
recalled, reinstated and given double promotion by the current administration.
Moreover, we know from the Head of Service’s leaked memo
that President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of this entire saga.
Perhaps Asiwaju Bola Tinubu mistook the Usain Bolt speed at
which Maina was smuggled back into the country and reinstated for the unproven
claims of corruption under Jonathan.
We also know that it is a fact that $25 billion worth of
contracts were awarded at the NNPC without due process. It is also a fact that
this is the highest ever such amount involved in Nigeria’s history. Again, perhaps
it is this amount that Tinubu meant when he said “So much money grew feet and
ran away faster than Usain Bolt ever could”. Or perhaps he was referring to
Babachir Lawal.
Nigerians should note that on the 7th of March 2014, then
President Jonathan said “I am loyal to Nigeria’s economy. I don’t have accounts
or property abroad.”
Till date, nobody has been able to contradict that statement
because it is true.
Can Bola Tinubu or anybody in the APC leadership make a
similar claim?
On the issue of Boko Haram and terrorism, it is a fact that
there is only one global body recognized to monitor terrorism and that is the
Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) which releases the annual Global
Terrorism Index.
It is a fact that between 2013 and 2014, Nigeria under
President Jonathan was unfortunately listed as the fourth most terrorized
nation in the world.
However, in the latest Global Terrorism Index released
yesterday (November 15, 2017) by the Institute for Economics and Peace, Nigeria
has deteriorated from where Jonathan left it and is now the third most
terrorized nation.
In 2015, President Jonathan ensured that elections held in
every local government in Borno states, but last month, the United Nations
declared that they could no longer operate in certain local governments of
Borno state. So who is fooling who?
So if according to Transparency International, Nigeria was
less corrupt under Jonathan than it is today and according to the Institute for
Economics and Peace, Nigeria is more terrorized today than it was under
Jonathan, it becomes clear that Bola Tinubu has no factual basis to make the
claims he made.”
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