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The Action Congress (AC) has said the threat issued to Nigeria by the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), over the decision to send former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu on course, amounts to undue arrogance on the part of the agency and a blatant interference in Nigeria's affairs.
The Action Congress (AC) has said the threat issued to Nigeria by the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), over the decision to send former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu on course, amounts to undue arrogance on the part of the agency and a blatant interference in Nigeria's affairs.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party wondered what gave the agency the audacity to dictate to a sovereign nation on an issue that is perfectly within its jurisdiction.
It said the claim by UNODC that the decision by the government to send Ribadu on course would affect the implementation of a $30 million project in support of the EFCC was sheer blackmail, saying the agency can keep the money if the condition for granting it to Nigeria is to strip the country of its sovereignty.
'The reaction of the UNODC to the Ribadu saga is an insult to Nigerians and a disregard for the country's sovereignty. Does the government need to consult the UN before making appointments? Was it the UN that appointed Ribadu as EFCC Chairman? Is the UN the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that must ratify any government appointment?
'We hope the UNODC will come out to refute the statement credited to its Executive Director, Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, that President Umaru Yar'Adua must clarify the government's decision on Ribadu.
'If not, then the agency must have overstepped its bounds in issuing what amounts to a query to a government of a sovereign nation. This is absurd, totally unacceptable and simply amounts to dictating to Nigeria how to run its institutions,'' AC said.
The party said while Nigeria welcomes the support of its international partners in fighting corruption, such must not be seen as an avenue to trample on the country's sovereignty.
'In any case, we reject the notion that corruption is a native of Nigeria. Afterall, multinationals operating in Nigeria, from Wilbros to Siemens, have been at the centre of huge corruption allegations in recent times.
'Some of these people, who maintain a sanctimonious stance on the fight against corruption, are the same ones stoking the fire of corruption. For them to now resort to issuing subtle or not-so-subtle threats to Nigeria over the fight against corruption, just because an individual was asked to undergo a necessary training, is the height of unbridled arrogance and must stop forthwith,'' AC added.