Extend probe beyond Jonathan’s administration, CSJ tells Buhari

The Centre for Social Justice has urged the government of PresidentMuhammaduBuhari to extend its corruption probe beyond the administrationof former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Reacting to reports that President Buhari will limit his probe to the pastadministration, the Lead Director, CSJ, EzeOyekpere, said it would beunfair to streamline corruption probes to only officials in the Jonathangovernment.

He stressed that there were some unscrupulous deals conducted by previousgovernments that were still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.

Oyekpere, who is a legal practitioner, spoke on the sidelines of mediabriefing that was organised to reveal the outcome of the fiscal governancetribunals.

“I take a holistic view about recovering public properties that were stolenand mismanaged. For instance, the Halliburton issue, the Siemens scandaldid not just come up under the last administration. And those things aretoo recent for us to forget them. So I believe that he (Buhari) shouldn’tsimply draw a line and say it is going to be from 2011 or from 2010, no.

“He should go back a little bit, even the power scandal that involves anexpenditure of over $15bn where we can’t see the results up till today. Heshould go back a little bit, it shouldn’t be about Jonathan’sadministration viz-a-viz PDP, APC, no. It should have been about ournational interest and some of these issues are too recent in our memoriesfor us to sweep them under the carpet.”

Former President Goodluck Jonathan had in May, during the valedictorysession of the Federal Executive Council, stated that those who werecalling for the probe of his government should ensure that such probes wereextended beyond his administration, and stressed that otherwise it would beseen as witch hunting.

But late last month, the Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs toPresident Buhari, Mr. Femi Adesina, said his boss will limit hisanti-corruption war to the immediate past administration in the country.

He had explained that Buhari would not waste time in probing theadministrations of former President OlusegunObasanjo, AbdulsalamAbubakar,SaniAbacha and Ibrahim Babangida.

He stated that even before the President was sworn into office on May 29,he had categorically made it clear that he would not extend his corruptionprobe beyond the Jonathan government.

“If you recall, that was already settled before he got inaugurated aspresident. He has said he will not waste time digging into the far past,”Adesina reportedly said.