Governor Fayose accuses President Buhari of rewarding looters who decamped from PDP

Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose says President Buhari is presiding over the most corrupt government in Nigeria’s history. Fayose said this in a statement issued on Monday by Lere Olayinka, his special assistant on public communications and new media.

He alleged that Buhari’s fight against corruption is selective as it “protects and rewards” looters who decamped from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He said the first looters list released by the government was politically motivated while the second was an afterthought “to cover the shame” of the government because Nigerians questioned the first.   

“With the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, saying that corruption has become more endemic in Nigeria than it was in the last 16 years, with the country moving 12 places below its rating, a honourable government would have stopped using fight against corruption as its major achievement and releasing names of people that are still under trial as looters just to cover up its failure,” the statement read.  

“Nigerians have seen through their deceit and will no longer buy that fake image of integrity they are trying to sell.  “For any lists of alleged looters to be credible, the President, who is protecting looters should be number one while those looters in his government should follow.  “His nomination form was bought with proceeds of corruption and those who bought the form and financed his election were paid back with the return of all their seized properties, ministerial appointments and even disappearance of prosecution witnesses in EFCC cases.  Fayoser accused Buhari of his complicity in “fanning the flames of corruption” by citing specific cases which according to him are still “unresolved.”

The statement read: “A government that reinstated and promoted Abdullahi Maina, who was declared wanted for corrupt practices by the International Police Organisation, (INTERPOL) and dismissed in 2013 for alleged N2.1 billion pension fraud and used APC broom to sweep the $25 billion contracts scam in the NNPC under the carpet is nothing but a government of plunderers and that is the clear definition of Buhari’s government.  “It was in this same government that the minister of health, Isaac Adewole suspended the National Health Insurance Scheme Executive Secretary, Professor Usman Yusuf for alleged corruption and the President recalled him even without the knowledge of the minister.  “Up till today, nothing has happened to the probe panel on the alleged N500 million bribery said to have been paid to the President’s Chief of Staff (COS), Abba Kyari by officials of MTN to influence government to discontinue its heavy stance on the $5 billion fine imposed on the company.  

“Therefore, no matter how hard they try now, they can no longer hoodwink Nigerians with their deceit of fight against corruption. Even APC Senator, Shehu Sani once said that the President uses insecticide to fight corruption involving his perceived political opponents, but use deodorant when it comes it affects his own men.”