Posted by By Sun News Publishing on
The Action Congress (AC) has renewed its call for a thorough probe of the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, following recent revelations that his children obtained many contracts from state firms and agencies during his tenure.
The Action Congress (AC) has renewed its call for a thorough probe of the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, following recent revelations that his children obtained many contracts from state firms and agencies during his tenure.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said disclosures in court papers filed by Obasanjo's first son, Gbenga and his estranged wife, Iyabo-Obasanjo's shady business deals and the former President‘s shares and other scandals have lent credence to the general belief that Obasanjo ran a government characterised by favouritism, selective anti-graft war and vindictiveness.
It said while Obasanjo was quick to use the bully pulpit to humiliate government ministers, federal legislators and suspected opponents over alleged corruption, his family members were feeding fat on the state.
'Leaving aside the salacious revelations emerging from the nasty divorce involving Obasanjo's first son, Gbenga, and his wife, we are shocked by the disclosure that he (Gbenga) allegedly used his position as the first son to obtain huge contracts from the NNPC, the NNDC, construction firms doing business with the government and to grab oil blocks, among others.
'Since these revelations came via sworn court statements, we have no reason to doubt their authenticity. Indeed, we are alarmed that a self-proclaimed graft fighter could show such indiscretion as to allow his children to become so involved in unbridled contracts grab.
'Add the latest disclosure to the story of Damilola Akinlawon, Iyabo Obasanjo's contract scam, and one will begin to have an idea of the kind of favouritism, cronyism and other acts of indiscretion that ran through the Obasanjo years (1999-2007),'' AC said.
The party said a probe of the immediate past federal administration will reveal why the refineries were never allowed to work, even when millions of dollars were spent on rehabilitating them; why NEPA and now PHCN could only guarantee darkness for Nigerians; why billions of naira sunk into the Niger Delta did not alleviate the suffering of the people of the region and why roads now lead to nowhere despite huge allocations to that sector.
'With family members enjoying the huge windfall associated with importing refined petroleum products, why would the refineries be allowed to work? With family members using fake names to obtain power sector contracts, why should anyone expect electricity? These and some other yet-to-be-disclosed issues will be brought to light during a probe of the past administration, which we believe will happen sooner than later.
'And of course Nigerians, who were continuously charged to tighten their belt and bear more burden, including ever-increasing fuel prices, all through the eight years of Obasanjo will like to know why they made such sacrifice while one Obasanjo family member was earning a whopping 500 million naira per year!'' AC added.