Under Jonathan, even EFCC boss is accused of corruption — Buhari

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari, has stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has not recorded any high profile conviction since President Goodluck Jonathan came to power four years ago.

Speaking through his spokesperson Garba Shehu at a press conference Thursday in Abuja, Mr. Buhari said EFCC’s inability to record a conviction is in stark contrast to its past record, where former governors and other senior public officials accused of defrauding the Nigerian people were tried and prosecuted.

“Thus, we can safely say that President Jonathan has muzzled the EFCC. “He has turned one of our country’s most respected and revered institutions into a toothless bulldog without even as much as a bark,” he said.

Mr. Shehu said it is startling to see the dexterity with which the President sacked the former chairman of the SURE-P scheme owing to his pronouncement on the desirability of change.

Mr. Jonathan had sacked Martin Agwai as SURE-P chairman after he reportedly attended the birthday celebration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The retired Army General was also reported to have talked about the “desirability for change” in the country.
Mr. Shehu said the president hastily sacked the SURE-P boss, adding “meanwhile, ministers and other senior members of his government who have heavy allegations of corruption hanging on their necks still comfortably retain their positions”.

He said not only did Mr. Jonathan stop the EFCC from doing its job, but that he has also reversed some previous achievements of the commission by granting state pardon to erstwhile government officials whom it had uncovered as guilty of corruption.

“To make matters worse, at present the EFCC itself is in turmoil.

“Its chairman is accused by staff of corruption. The commission’s staff is also being owed salaries and entitlements, having not been paid for three months.

“It is no wonder, therefore, that Nigeria remains in an abysmal low on the Transparency International ranking of corrupt countries in the world,” he said.

He added that yet another clear example of the wanton corruption that has become commonplace in President Jonathan’s government is the recent announcement by the Nigerian Senate that the Ministry of Works’ budget has been reduced by 89 percent.

“Who was the intended recipient of the unnecessary, extra 89 percent? Into whose pockets were the superfluous millions intended? And if indeed the 89 percent was essential to the effective functioning of the ministry, is the reduction just an attempt by the PDP government to punish Nigerians for asking for CHANGE?” he said.