Ex-ministers, presidency disagree over anti-graft war
* Ex-ministers kick
The Presidency has said the ongoing anti-graft war against ministers who served under former president, Goodluck Jonathan is not negotiable.
It wondered what the former ministers were afraid of by constituting themselves into an association which he described as “the country’s latest trade union”.
A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said Buhari’s war against corruption knows no friend or foe.
He asked the ex-ministers to reflect on the sort of government they handed over to Buhari in May to determine whether it would have been right for any incoming government to ignore “the brazen theft of public assets, perhaps the first of its kind ever seen in the country”.
He emphasised that the antigraft war was crucial to the overall reconstruction of the economy and social system which he said, suffered “destruction and severe denigration under the last administration”.
He said the earlier statements that there was no witch hunt or malice against anyone in the pursuit of the county’s stolen assets still stands.
“This war against corruption knows neither friend nor foe. There is no intention to deny anyone his good name where he is entitled to it, and that President Buhari reserves the highest regards for the country’s former leaders including Dr Goodluck Jonathan whom he continues to praise for the way and manner in which he accepted defeat in the last election. That singular action remains a feat that has earned the former president and Nigeria as a country befitting commendations all over the world, the latest coming from Mr Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations who visited a week ago”, the statement said.
It added that President Buhari would neither be deterred nor blackmailed “into retreat and surrender” in the fight against corruption.
He said no one in the PDP could accuse Buhari of undermining the economy “when all they handed over to him is at best, was a tottering economy hobbled by corruption and the absence of due process”.
Ministers who served under Jonathan earlier yesterday decried what they called the vilification of their former boss by President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC.
Former Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, who issued a statement on behalf of his colleagues, said the former president deserved respect and not condemnation.
He said the improvements noticed in the power sector, security and other social services were products of the solid foundation laid by Jonathan.
He said the ministers were proud to have served under Jonathan, adding that they discharged their duties and responsibilities diligently to the best of their abilities.
The ex-ministers encouraged Buhari to forge ahead with his probes and anti-corruption drive, adding however that the probes should “be in strict accordance with his oath of office to treat all Nigerians equally and with the fear of God”.
“We have watched with increasing alarm and concern, the concerted effort by the Buhari administration and members of the APC to condemn, ridicule and undermine the efforts of that administration, in addition to impugning the integrity of its individual members. While we concede that every administration has the right to chart its own path as it deems fit, we nevertheless consider the vilification of the Jonathan administration, to be illintentioned, unduly partisan, and in bad faith. The effort that has been made to portray each and every member of the Jonathan administration as corrupt and irresponsible, in an orchestrated and vicious trial by media, has created a lynch mentality that discredits our honest contributions to the growth and development of our beloved nation”, the statement said.