Nigeria: Those Accusations Against Suleiman Bello

8 February 2011
editorial

The allegations and circumstances that last week prevented the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC) from continuing with the arraignment of Minister of State for Health, Alhaji Suleiman Bello, before a Yola High Court should be fully examined, if the nation is serious about the principles of probity and decency in its public life.

To begin with, Bello's nomination and subsequent confirmation as a minister of the Federal Republic are an unfortunate commentary on the nation's sense of morality. As a senior official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in several states of the federation, the last being Resident Electoral Commissioner for Adamawa State, he ought not to be a direct beneficiary of the electoral victory of the government whose election he supervised. But that was what happened. No doubt, that effectively calls to question the type of umpire he was. In societies where premium is placed on ethics, an organiser of elections would not seek or obtain favour from entities that assume power through the same process.

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