Victims Of Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Fight Are Mostly People Who Served In The Last Administration – Osinbajo
Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria[/caption]
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has dismissed the allegations that President Muhammadu Buhari’s corruption fight is mainly targeted at the opposition party and government officials who served under the previous administration.
This he said yesterday at the end of the 27th ordinary session of the African Union which held in Kigali, Rwanda.
Osinbajo emphasised that allegations that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was only out to witch-hunt the opposition party, PDP, is baseless.
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The Vice President also stated that those who have fallen victim of the corruption fight are not necessarily members of the opposition party, but that some are “Service Chiefs and other personnel who had served for a while” under the previous administration.
“I think it’s entirely absurd. I think that view is absurd and without foundation or basis whatsoever. We look at corruption from all possible facets.
“If you look at, for example, corruption in the military, from military procurements, obviously the only individuals responsible for that could be persons who had held office within the period in question and that has been done and clearly the opposition (APC) was not in the office at that time.
“Again these were huge sums of money, over 2 billion US Dollars and the sheer size and the enormity of what we are talking about, must not be diminished in anyway or trivialised in anyway by any suggestion that it is partisan. How? in what way?
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“I think those who make that suggestion obviously want to trivialise a very important programme of the government, a very important fight against corruption and also the strong effort to recover huge sums of money that have been stolen from Nigeria.”
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused on different occasions and by different groups of not fighting a holistic corruption battle.
The president was also accused of favouring the North in most of his appointments.
Recently, an opposition party, National Conscience Party (NCP), accused the president of making another lopsided appointment after he appointed Hadiza Bala Usman as managing director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).
While trying to defend the several allegations, special adviser on media and publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, said that President Buhari may have to consider other characteristics other than federal character while making certain appointments.
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He added that the president would not withhold an appointment “when it is the turn of a person to hold a certain office.”
