The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District in the National
Assembly, Senator Buruji Kashamu has urged Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo
Fayose “to stop the needless mudslinging against the wife of the
President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and face the allegations against him”.
In
a statement he issued in Abuja today, Kashamu likened Fayose’s attempt
to link Mrs Buhari with the Halliburton scandal as a “needless
distraction and an amateurish shadow-boxing. His action could be taken
for a drowning man clutching at a straw”.
The statement reads in
part, “It is interesting that Mr. Fayose is talking about the rule of
law and the need to do things within the ambit of the law. I never knew
that he has ever heard of the concept of the Rule of Law. When he
trampled on other people’s rights in a bid to abrogate their tenure in
office where was the Rule of Law? Now he is crying out because he is
afraid he might have to get a taste of his own medicine because a man
must certainly reap whatever he sows.
“Mr. Fayose is talking
about the fact that he enjoys immunity under the law. If I may ask: can a
governor who disobeys the law with reckless abandon seek protection
under the law? You cannot say because immunity covers you, you should
not be investigated if you are suspected to have benefitted from the
funds that were meant to buy arms for the protection of Nigerians. I
think it is high time that we, as a people and government, address the
issue of people committing crimes and hiding under the immunity clause.”
The
statement further added, “Fayose must stop chasing shadows and address
the allegations against him. It is preposterous that he suddenly
remembered that someone was involved in the Halliburton scandal at
exactly the same time that he is being investigated over the funds he
allegedly collected from the Office of the National Security Adviser
(ONSA).
“The questions are: Was he a beneficiary of
the ONSA funds? Is it true that over N300million was frozen in three
accounts traced to him? Were suspicious cash deposits made into the
accounts in 2014, in clear violation of the Money Laundering Act and
other enabling laws?
“It is said that you can fool
some people all of the time but you cannot fool all the people all of
the time. Nigerians can now see that what is playing out is a
confirmation of my earlier position that the loudest among us are not
necessarily the most pious. If he is being asked questions about his
campaign funds, he should be bold enough to give explanations without
necessarily casting aspersion on anyone. He should allow necessary
investigations to go on unimpeded.
That will not only help to
prove his innocence or otherwise but could possibly boost his rating.
He could even choose to waive his immunity to aid the investigation if
he does not have anything to hide. Immunity does not preclude any public
officer even a governor from explaining how he funded his election
campaign or the source (s) of deposits made into his account (s).
“The
reality that Mr. Fayose must come to terms with is that the allegations
against him are too grave to be sidelined for a seemingly spurious
allegation against the wife of the president. Months of workers’
salaries are yet to be paid in Ekiti State; development partners have
abandoned state, just as families are languishing as a result of his
ill-advised political scheming.
“This current campaign of calumny
and juvenile tantrums cannot sweep the issue of corruption under the
carpet; neither can it kick enough dirt to make any right-thinking
Nigerian to shut his or her eyes to the truth.
This is not about
party affiliation or dog eating dog. It is about the plundering of our
commonwealth and there should be no sacred cows in the fight against
corruption. This is a fight that all patriotic Nigerians should lend
their weight without any primordial sentiments or prejudice.
No comments:
Post a Comment