Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said that the Federal
Government must do more than just talking about whether or not the
Halliburton and Siemens corruption scandals, will be reopened, adding
that President Mohammadu Buhari should disabuse the minds of Nigerians
who believed that his fight against corruption was selective and
political by going ahead to try those indicted in the Halliburton and
Siemens scams.
Governor Fayose, who commended the Federal Government for saying that
the case was not dead, said it was not enough to tell Nigerians that a
case like the Halliburton and Siemens, in which many people have been
jailed in other countries, especially the United States and
investigations concluded in Nigeria with those alleged to be involved
questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was
not dead. Rather, those already found wanting should be prosecuted.
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and
New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said; "As it still appears, the
statement made by the Federal Government on the Halliburton and
Siemens corruption scandals may not be more than another decoy to
shift the attention of Nigerians from the selective nature of
President Buhari's fight against corruption."
The governor described the publicised arrest of President Buhari's
associate and All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain, Jafaru Isa,
and his reported refund of N100 million to the EFCC as the first trick
used by the Federal Government in its attempt to deceive Nigerians
into believing that the fight against corruption was not selective.
"Like I have maintained, I do not buy into the EFCC story of Jafaru
Isa's refund of N100 million because it raises more questions than
answers and I am also seeing this talks by the Federal Government
about reopening of the Halliburton and Siemens scams as an aftermath
of the failure of the Jafaru Isa's stunt to achieve the desired
result.
"This is because unlike the arms deal that the EFCC is investigating,
the Halliburton and Siemens scams have been investigated both in
Nigeria and in the other countries. None of the top Nigerian culprits
implicated in the $1.5 billion bribery scandal had been questioned and
put on trial in Nigeria while others from other countries were already
serving various jail terms.
"Therefore, reopening the Halliburton and Siemens scams should be
immediate and total. It should not be another decoy to deceive
Nigerians by giving the impression that the anti-corruption war is not
targeted at those opposed to President Buhari in the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and his own party, the APC.
"Also, the president should go a step further by directing the EFCC to
investigate the many petitions written against those who financed his
election and other chieftains of the APC, including Ministers serving
in the government presently.
"Until those alleged to be involved in the Halliburton and Siemens
scams and those who financed the President's election with public
funds are charged to court, Nigerians will be right in believing that
the fight against corruption is only an instrument of settling
political scores."
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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