President Muhammadu Buhari anti-corruption crusade is under test in Kogi State. The just-concluded All Progressives Congress governorship primary in the state was clearly a test of this administration’s war against corruption.
The APC governorship primary in Kogi State has come and gone, but the dust it raised has not settled. The governorship primary was keenly contested by 27 candidates including a former governor Prince Abubakar Audu, who was declared winner.
Audu’s emergence in that primary is the bone of contention. It is unimaginable seeing the former governor coming back to rule a state he allegedly looted dry. You can’t have your cake and eat it!
Why the protest against Audu? It would be recalled that Audu has contested the governorship position of the state in all governorship elections since the inception of the state. In 1991-1992, he was elected under the defunct National Republican Convention. Audu re-contested in 1999 under the defunct All Peoples Party and won. He completed his tenure of four years. His reelection bid failed in 2003, and since then he has continued to contest for an opportunity to rule Kogi again – in 2007, 2011 and now 2015.
My concern is that, the essence of the APC National working committee screening candidates for an election is to ensure only credible candidates with proven ability are allowed to contest. So, how did Audu scale through in the first place? I am waiting for the day President Muhammadu Buhari will stand on the podium to lift the hand of Prince Audu, who has been accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of diverting N11bn belonging to the people of Kogi State.
This administration has been heavily criticised and accused of being selective in its anti-corruption crusade. It is now left for Buhari to justify or refute this claim through his actions or body language. Nigerians need to be convinced that we are not in military era where a perceived enemy could be bundled into prison without the government following the due process.
If Buhari and the APC are truly committed to the gospel of zero tolerance for corruption, why are they trying to put a square peg in a round hole in Kogi? The APC chieftains including Buhari cannot deny the fact that Audu’s hands are not clean.
The Buhari-led administration must demonstrate in words and actions that his integrity and commitment towards salvaging Nigerian is unquestionable. He has just declared his assets publicly, which is good and a departure from what obtained in the past. According to what was declared, Buhari is worth N30m in cash, and has shares in banks, livestock birds and houses in different parts of the country, when it was claimed that he resided in a mud house in Daura, Katsina State. I agree with the Third Republic governor of Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, who said, “Buhari is very rich”.
Nigerians have been questioning and reacting since Mr. President declared his assets. He was koboless according to his handlers during the electioneering campaign, off course, and as a result some sympathisers contributed money to sponsor his campaign.
In short, he was said to have obtained a loan from a bank to purchase his N27m nomination form. How come Buhari, who claimed to be poor before the campaign has up to N30m cash after a very expensive and elaborate presidential campaign? I am not questioning Buhari’s integrity, or his performance so far in over 100 days in office. But he must demonstrate in totality that he is what he says he is. This way, Nigerians would have faith in him as our messiah.
No comments:
Post a Comment