By Lawrence Olaoye and Olaolu Oladipo
There have been insinuations that the current administration of President Bola Tinubu has been reluctant to openly probe into serious allegations of corruption against some ministers and senior officials who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
This, according to critics, was because the President was trying to avoid rubbishing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to which they both belong. A dependable source in the Presidency disclosed that Tinubu adopted a silent mode of probe where those found culpable among the former ministers were made to return their loot secretly into government coffers without raising any eyebrow.
The source, who craved anonymity because he had no mandate to speak on the matter, said: “The President is seriously after the looters in Buhari’s administration. “Some of the ministers under probe have pleaded to return their loot to avoid prosecution. “Several billions of Naira and others in hard currencies have been returned to the government while investigations into their activities continue.” Another source added: “Almost all the heads of agencies and parastatals under the former President are under investigation. “You will see that the President has been sacking them one after the other. Some of them have pleaded for out-of-court settlement by refunding looted funds traced to them.
“Those proving stubborn among the corrupt officials would soon be charged to court. “It would interest you to know that the former President has refused to intercede for any of his ministers found culpable. “We learnt that Buhari had expressed surprise at the level of sleaze perpetrated by his ministers and that he had told anyone of them found culpable to face the consequences of their actions. “He had told them never to bother him in his retirement with their problems.” Meanwhile, the major opposition political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), have both welcomed the development with the two calling for transparency and prosecution of those found culpable.
The Publicity Secretaries of the parties, Debo Ologunagba and Obiora Ifoh, in separate telephone chats, however, maintained that the development, if true, would allow the country to have access to more funds to run the country. Reacting to the development, Ologunagba said: “You are saying that you have a good authority, but I don’t know the authority that you have now,” while asking for specific details with regards to those involved in the various financial crimes during the life of the immediate past regime. The PDP spokesman concluded by urging the media and other stakeholders to help make the government more transparent on the issue, saying, “Maybe if you write this and other stakeholders talk, the NSA and the EFCC will be forced to talk.”
On his party, Ifoh, who welcomed the development, urged the Federal Government to prosecute those involved with a view to making it serve as a deterrent measure to those who might want to loot the country in future. “I have not read the story before, but if it is true, it is a welcome development. For us in the Labour Party, the issue should move beyond returning money. “The government should also mete out the punishment that is involved in such an act, Ifoh said.
newtelegraphng.com
