The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Monday said that President Goodluck Jonathan’s “body language” did not indicate that he had the political will to stem corruption in the country.
He also decried Jonathan’s penchant for setting up committees to probe corruption allegations and what he termed “the culture of undue secrecy surrounding the operation of government.”
Tambuwal listed the oil subsidy and Security and Exchange Commission scandals, the Pension scam as well as the Oduaghate, to buttress his allegation of Jonathan’s perceived paying of lip service to the war against graft.
The speaker also came hard on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission accusing it of being corrupt.
He was reacting to issues raised during the question and answer session at an event organised by the Nigerian Bar Association to mark the 2013 International Anti-corruption Day in Abuja.
But the Presidency said it was unfortunate that a man occupying a high office as the speaker could judge the President by body language.
Tambuwal had said, “The Executive, by constituting committees to investigate what ordinarily would have been investigated by the EFCC, the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other-Related Offences Commission) and the Code of Conduct Bureau, is engaged in a duplication of effort.
“We ( the National Assembly) do our own; we have been mandated by the 1999 Constitution to do it. They ( the anti-corruption agencies) have been established by law to do what they do.
“The Executive has no business in establishing their own. They (the Executive) should just refer corruption issues, if they mean business, to the EFCC.
“Let the Executive have the will of referring these matters, from the office of Mr. President, to the EFCC and see what will happen.
“By the action of setting up different committees for straightforward cases, the President’s body language doesn’t tend to support the fight against corruption.”
Turning to a representative of the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, at the event , he said the agency had turned a blind eye to several fraud allegations that the National Assembly had investigated.
Wow!!! that was a real blast!!! I guess its time to tell the truth without fear or could that be a plot to sabotage thePresident's second tenure ambition?
well, we will see about that soon......
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