Abuja — The Presidency said yesterday that the current rating of the Transparency International was not the fault of the present administration but due to decades of endemic corruption in our polity.
Faulting claim by the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which placed the blame for rating of Nigeria as the 35th most corrupt nation, at the door step of the President Goodluck Jonathan's administration, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe said such claim "is preposterous and lacking in credibility, and can only be best described as pure political mischief.
He said, "Lai Mohammed knows they, in the Action Congress, live in glass houses and should not throw stones because his party is home to some of the most notoriously corrupt Nigerians ever. He should not throw stones just to score cheap political points. His party has no moral leg it can stand to pontificate about corruption.
According to Okupe, "Nigerians are not fools and cannot be fooled for too long that there is endemic corruption within the rank and file of his party. It is an undeniable fact that corruption is a major challenge to the nation and its people, and everyone agrees it is endemic and has been with us for over three decades.
"Few days ago we spelt out details of commendable efforts of this administration in fighting corruption and also confirming the demonstrable political will of this administration to take up this onerous challenge.
Critics of this administration appear to be deliberately undiscerning, confusing incidences of corrupt practices unraveled by this administration and legal steps being taken by the administration as being corrupt practice of the same administration.
Part of this mischief and attempt to bring opprobrium on this administration was the assertion by President of the Campaign for Democracy, CD, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin. She said N5 trillion was stolen under Jonathan, and that "the non-implementation of the Farouk Lawan report as well as the Nuhu Ribadu Presidential Task Force findings has completely killed the fight against corruption in Nigeria."
The above calls to question her respect for facts because it is a fact that the Lawan report has been handed over to the EFCC, and there are ongoing prosecution deriving from this, while the President just set up a White Paper committee on the Ribadu report. How do you implement a report without a white Paper?.
We reiterate that the conclusion that N5 trillion was stolen under President's Jonathan's watch is gross misinformation and absolute falsehood. Nowhere in the Ribadu was that conclusion reached. It never happened, and it is wholesomely untrue.
"We want to state categorically, for the umpteenth time that it was this administration that exposed the oil subsidy scam, pension scam, and also set up the Nuhu Ribadu committee to look into the rot in the oil sector.
"We must state that the fight against corruption is not a short boxing bout, but a long fight that will be systemic, strategic and institutional. The role of the judiciary in bringing culprits to justice cannot be underestimated in the war against corruption.
No matter the Federal Government's commitment , the President has no power to jail any suspect by presidential fiat. Therefore he should not be made a scape goat for the failure of other arms of government who fail to judiciously discharge their responsibilities.
It is also not true that lack of funding is stalling the fight as concluded by Chairman, Coalition Against Corruption, Debo Adeniran. We must not forget what the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde said recently about how judges and lawyers stall trials of high profile suspects. The two trials of James Ibori in Nigeria and the United Kingdom fully underscore this point.
"The Federal Government, mindful of this judicial stumbling block, has put together a bill to reform the criminal justice system, so that justice will no longer be evaded through sundry abuses of court processes.
"We assure Nigerians that in spite of the persistent and perplexing mischief of deceitful politicians, and some unpatriotic Nigerians who never sees good in whatever government does, the administration will continue its unrelenting fight to rid our society of this menace.
This is a war the President has set for himself and he has demonstrated the will and capability to prosecute same.
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JONATHAN, WEALTHY POLITICIANS, CORRUPTIVE INFLUENCE OF EVILS ON THE JUDICIARY. The very unfortunate statement creditably made by President Goodluck Jonathan blaming the judiciary for evils of corruption in Nigeria must be regarded by the right thinking individuals as that of a man tragically seeing himself in the mirror double as black and white. “Therefore President Goodluck Jonathan should not be made a scapegoat for failure of other arms of government to judiciously discharge their responsibilities. It is also not true that lack of funding is stalling the fight against corruption as concluded by the Chairman of Coalition Against Corruption, Mr. Debo Adeniran” unbecoming statement made by the Presidency reveals Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, with all seriousness of purpose a pathetic hallucinatory character, the worst type of day dreamer the nation ever had, an horror of happening to Nigeria. This altruistic judgmental becomes apposite on the reality of the fact that there can be no smoke without fire. The head obviously takes full responsibility for and must with equanimity speak with full authority for the body. It therefore becomes a saddening embarrassment for good reasons when the head starts blaming the body for wrong actions taken. This surmises a signal of the head going bad statement of Mr. President blaming the endemic corruption in the land on the judiciary. Taking into consideration the fact that those in the judicial arm are mostly appointed and promoted rightly or wrongly by the Executive Arm under inglorious inducements and rough particulars of political influences and considerations albeit with laying of foundation on corruption. Goodluck Jonathan blaming the judiciary for corruption in Nigeria is an acceptance of guilt and failure and indicative of him blaming himself. Having been relative and active participant as a Litigant and particularly as Litigant In Person in the judicial and justice dispensation system of Nigeria the past 30 years and with the credit of having won about 80 percent of my cases without cornering and or influencing any of the Judges, one can with pride say and conclude that the nation’s judiciary parades some of the best brains and conscience of integrity to be found any where in the world. Noticeable however are Judicial and Judges failing on particular matters and or cases having to do with Executive Arm Robbers and those with political big wigs, governmental considerations and influences. President Goodluck Jonathan being the Executive Head of Government of Nigeria should therefore see the Endemic Corruption pervading the land as a totality of his government’s failure and therefore be bold enough to take full responsibility for all the evils being witnessed and rather than sifting blame take the courage to resign from office immediately for his inability to lead well and for his very poor leadership qualities. Dr. Olapade Agoro (Aladura Patriarch) National Chairman/ former Presidential Candidate, National Action Council (NAC) Former Juror Snaresbrook Crown Court UK, Member World Jurists Association
I wish Jonathan understand how much he inflame the anger of intelligent Nigerians by his constant effort to disown his inability to run the affairs of this nation he swore to govern .He has hidden under this inexcusable incompetent theory to think he can escape his responsibility as the nations chief executive officer. Why do sent this man declare his incapacity to continue to preside and handover the mandate to Ngozi or the audacious Buhari whose brief record of performance has been tested by the nation .