Posted by By KENNY ASHAKA, Kaduna on
Former factional national chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Comrade Usman Adamu Song, has sounded a note of warning to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua over his handling of the scams involving his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
• Obasanjo must never get away with his sins, or Yar'Adua'll be in trouble
Former factional national chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Comrade Usman Adamu Song, has sounded a note of warning to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua over his handling of the scams involving his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Song warned President Yar'Adua that it would be a costly mistake capable of consuming him if he failed to bring former president Obasanjo to book for his past misdeeds.
He said the President must speak up on the issue of corruption being investigated by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, pointing out that his keeping quiet is not dignifying.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun in Kaduna, the frontline politician cautioned President Yar'Adua to beware of the former president.
'Yar'Adua has only one option open to him. It's either he goes with Nigerians for tolerating him despite all the illegalities surrounding his emergence as PDP candidate and in the subsequent election, or he abandons Nigerians and goes with his political godfather and faces the wrath of Nigerians.
'In the situation Yar'Adua finds himself, there is no middle way. It is either he is for Nigerians or for Obasanjo," he noted.
He also came down hard on the upper chamber of the National Assembly over their handling of the Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) face-off, urging the Senate not to make its chamber a place where accused persons are harboured.
The former AD chief, who was also the deputy national chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and chairman of the Nomination/Screening Committee, which conducted the primaries that threw up Governor Theodore Orji as governorship candidate of the PPA in Abia State, said evidence abounds that the Abia State chief executive actually resigned his appointment before contesting the 2007 gubernatorial poll.
Yar'Adua and his godfather, Obasanjo
In the situation Yar'Adua finds himself, there is no middle way. It is either he is for Nigerians or for Obasanjo. He should be wary of the consequences of dumping Nigerians for Obasanjo because there is overwhelming evidence on the criminal activities Obasanjo perpetrated during his eight years' tenure. He must act very swiftly now. He should beware of Obasanjo otherwise he would be consumed in the process.
The Senate and Iyabo-Obasanjo-Bello
This issue of Iyabo and Obasanjo are two controversial issues. Nobody ever knew that there is an Iyabo Obasanjo. So, she came to enjoy the spoils of office. And in Ogun State, Iyabo does not have the wherewithal on her own merit to emerge a Senator. She knows it. She only used the influence of her father to emerge. The other thing is that it is very disheartening when all the newspapers are shouting that she is hiding in the Senate President's house. I am now urging the Senate not to make it a place to harbour accused persons when the House of Representatives can dig into the scandalous activities of some of them.
Rating of Yar'Adua's one-year government
So far, Yar'Adua's performance can be said to be average in some aspects. In others, he has performed woefully, especially in taking decisive action on some matters like the corruption being investigated in the House of Representatives. His keeping quiet is not encouraging.
So, he should speak up. He should make a categorical statement on the issue in tandem with his avowed rule of law and due process. Obasanjo is a Nigerian and nobody is above the law. Obasanjo should be brought to answer the charges against him.
On the average, his obedience to court pronouncements is commendable considering where we are coming from.
Governor Theodore Orji and the tribunal verdict
To be candid, I happened to be one of the officers who went to conduct the primaries where Orji emerged and it is a basic fact that even at party level, it is required that you have to resign before contesting. And Orji resigned. We were shown all the documents proving that he resigned. All the documents were put at our disposal.
What we did was to screen all our candidates to ensure compliance with our constitution and the Electoral Act and conduct primaries where we have more than a candidate vying for a position. So, to the best intents and purposes, as a Moslem, I can tell you that anybody who says T.A. Orji did not resign before contesting is only day-dreaming.
To our surprise, nobody has invited those of us who conducted the primaries to give evidence. I am wondering how they arrived at the fact that he did not resign.