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National president of the United Aladura Churches and the Supreme Head of the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church, His Eminence, Dr. Solomon Adegboyega Alao has called on the National Assembly to compel Senator Nuhu Aliyu to expose fraudsters in the Senate and the House of Assembly in the interest of the nation and the lawmakers themselves.
National president of the United Aladura Churches and the Supreme Head of the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church, His Eminence, Dr. Solomon Adegboyega Alao has called on the National Assembly to compel Senator Nuhu Aliyu to expose fraudsters in the Senate and the House of Assembly in the interest of the nation and the lawmakers themselves.
Failure to do this, Alao said, would give the impression that all members of the National Assembly are fraudsters 'and that is not good for the image of the country in the international community."
The clergy man also solicited the help of the media in putting pressure on the former Deputy Inspector General of Police to expose the alleged ‘419' legislators in his and the nation's interest, wondering why a former top brass in the police and a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would chicken out of cleansing the augean stable of the National Assembly.
The man of God said nobody should be spared if the president wants to deal decisively with corruption. 'There should be no sacred cow if we want to deal decisively with corruption. Even the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo should not be spared. He should be probed and if found guilty, the law should take its course. Obasanjo, being a member of Transparency International should even volunteer himself for investigation."
The Aladura head, however, expressed his doubt whether President Umaru Yar'Adua or the National Assembly has the political will or the moral courage to instigate or approve of Obasanjo's probe: 'In spite of Yar'Adua's antecedents as a staunch supporter of the late Aminu Kano, a Talakawa, has the president got the muscle morally or politically to approve of ex-president Obasanjo's probe? Obasanjo installed him president in the first place. Do you think he would bite the fingers that fed him? The National Assembly also does not have the moral courage to probe Obasanjo because most of them are products of controversial and disputed elections. So, who is going to initiate the probe and on whose approval?
Speaking on the noise that greeted the former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu's removal, Alao said Ribadu was seemingly selective in his fight against corruption. 'He was seen as being against those who oppose former President Obasanjo when he was in power, especially, opponents of his third term project. People should ask Ribadu what he did with former Governor Kalu's petition against Obasanjo. What did he do in regards of the petition against Iyabo Obasanjo? What of the NPA scandal? If Yar'Adua wants people to take him seriously in his determination to fight corruption, then Ribadu had to go."
Speaking further, Alao said there are millions of Nigerians who can fight corruption, but are not in the corridor of power. 'Ribadu is a civil servant and he is subject to civil service rules on transfers, deployment etc. Are we saying if (God forbid) Ribadu drops dead, that is the end of the fight against corruption? The people making noise over his removal should have insisted that Ribadu declares his assets publicly at this stage to know how much he was worth when he came in and how much he is worth now."
Alao hailed the judiciary over its recent pronouncements on the April 2007 elections. The tribunals, he said, have restored Nigerians' confidence in the judiciary. 'Through the various judgments, the tribunals have now regained for the judiciary its independence guaranteed by the constitution. This is good for the growth of democracy. I think at this stage, all the government officials who have disobeyed court orders between1999 to 2007 should be prosecuted for contempt. President Yar'Adua should have a second look at this if he's serious about his commitment to the rule of law and to teach others the necessity of not disrespecting the courts for any reason."
He gave kudos to President Yar'Adua on the appointment of a committee on electoral reforms, describing such a step as timely. He advised that the reforms should be pursued to a logical conclusion.
He, however, advised that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as it is presently constituted should be disbanded before any election is held and replaced by credible men and women possibly drawn from the private sector who will be non-partisan.
'In future, a neutral electoral body both at the national and state level should be made up of equal representations from the three largest political parties to facilitate fair and credible elections in future. An election conducted by appointees of a ruling party can never be credible."
The man of God described the sex allegation against former President Olusegun Obasanjo, (a Baptist by faith) by his son, Gbenga as unfortunate. He said he found it difficult to believe that a bona fide son would hit his father like that. 'I still don't believe the allegation is true because only a mentally unstable person would do such a thing. The person who made the allegation could be mentally temporarily unstable. He may be regretting his action now. I won't be surprised if he withdraws his allegations.
On both sides, it raises some mental questions, which can only be answered by the two of them. I think Nigerians should leave them to sort themselves out. But if I were Obasanjo, I would immediately resign as the Chairman of Board of Trustees of the PDP, otherwise the party would be seen as a party being led by somebody seemingly morally bankrupt. Chief Obasanjo's silence does not help issues either."
Also speaking on the alleged Abacha loot allegedly stored in one of the late Head of State's property in Kano, the primate of the Sacred C & S lamented: 'I hope that corruption is not here to stay in Nigeria because there appears to be nobody morally upright in authority to throw the first stone. The story underscores the fact that we can't fight corruption successfully unless those charged with the fight are above board.
Traveling on Nigerian Roads, you see law enforcement agents extorting money at Road blocks and you wonder whether their superior officers are not aware of the goings on at the road blocks. People believe the men at roadblocks are sent there by their superiors and that they make returns to their ogas. Even if you don't want to give bribe, can you disobey a gun-totting man? These are people charged to fight crime and criminals. If the Abacha story is true, government should confiscate the property and the money, that is if the money is still there."