Posted by By Kola Ologbondiyan, Deji Elumoye in Lagos and Oke Epia on
Action Congress (AC) presidential candidate and Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) counterpart, Abia State governor Orji Kalu, topped the list of 130 candidates considered unfit to hold public offices over alleged corrupt practices which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forwarded to political parties Monday.
Action Congress (AC) presidential candidate and Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) counterpart, Abia State governor Orji Kalu, topped the list of 130 candidates considered unfit to hold public offices over alleged corrupt practices which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forwarded to political parties Monday.
The list, which also has Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, cuts across six parties and features two governors of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano and Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno State respectively who are both seeking re-election, among seven others on the party's platform. Aside Tinubu who dropped his senatorial interest yesterday, other governors seeking to contest the senatorial election but were featured in the EFCC list are; Enugu State Governor, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani; his Jigawa State counterpart, Alhaji Saminu Turaki in the PDP, as well as Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Sani Yerima. But the Vice President, in a swift response last night, said the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu's commission is only scandalising the names of innocent persons stressing that the list made available to the parties is of no consequence.
THISDAY had yesterday exclusively reported that EFCC had written to chairmen of the affected parties, on an advisory basis, to prevent the sudden shock of disqualification. But the copy of the letter to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmadu Ali, which was delivered Monday night, is already causing a fresh wave of disquiet among candidates in the party's platform.
A total of 52 candidates of the PDP are on the EFCC list which is composed mostly of flag bearers of the parties for the State Houses of Assembly elections.
A break down of the cases involving the PDP indicates that four governorship and a deputy governorship candidate are affected, viz- Danladi Baido (Taraba), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano), Jibril Alhasan (Niger) and Ejiofor Ebenezer (deputy governor, Enugu).
Five senatorial candidates, 14 in the House of Representatives and 26 in the state houses of assembly categories were also affected in the ruling party.
The other ANPP governorship candidates are Abubakar Audu (Kogi), Usman Albishir (Yobe), Mohammed Aruwa (Kaduna), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahim Hadeja (Jigawa) and Abdul Aziz Yari Abubakar, deputy governorship candidate in Zamfara State. Nine senatorial, five House of Representatives, and 13 state assembly candidates of the ANPP were mentioned in the list. In the case of the AC, Atiku led the pack of those considered unfit to hold public offices by the commission while the governorship candidates of the party, which featured on the list include Ibrahim Bapetel (Adamawa), Ahmed Yusuf (Taraba), Abubakar Hashidu (Gombe), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Peter Okocha (Delta) and Musa Bello (Kaduna).
Four senatorial candidates including Governor Tinubu of Lagos State, Silas Janfa (Plateau), Adekunle Muse (Lagos) were named while seven and nine House of Reps and state assembly candidates respectively, were implicated. For the PPA, the governorship candidate of Abia State and his running mate, Orji Ahamefule and Alizie Akomas, joined the list of the party's presidential candidate, Governor Kalu, in the blacklist. The Alliance for Democracy (AD) has one candidate in the state assembly election in Zamfara state included while the Democratic Peoples Party filled in the gap in Reps and assembly elections in Sokoto State.
The EFCC's letter, a copy of which was dispatched to President Olusegun Obasanjo, according to THISDAY checks, has resulted in a fresh wave of anxiety in the PDP which has been bedevilled by frequent changes of its candidates. It was gathered that a final list hitherto ready to be dispatched to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had to be tinkered due to the EFCC report. Meanwhile, in a surprising twist, Tinubu withdrew from contesting the Lagos West Senatorial District seat having picked the AC nomination form last December. In a letter to AC Lagos state chapter's chairman, Otunba Henry Ajomale, the governor predicated his decision to withdraw from the race on the need to give other party supporters the opportunity and chance to have enough time to mobilise the party for victory in Lagos State as well as the south west region. "While withdrawing from the race, I strongly urge the Party to consider the candidature of Ganiu Olanrewaju Solomon for the Lagos West Senatorial District. He is a loyal and committed party member, who has paid his dues by offering credible service at various levels including the Local government and the House of Representatives." Tinubu wrote.
Atiku, who spoke through the spokesperson of his Campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, said his lawyers are awaiting the letter accompanying the commission's list to see "if there's a ground for defamation. We will sue him (Ribadu). "But the question we want to ask is; what powers are they exercising by publicising such list and under what laws? As far as we can see, they have no roles in this whole process of screening but they want to come in through the back door. "This listing is of no consequence, an arbitrary use of power because what the statute says is that it is only a court of law that can disqualify. Ribadu is merely scandalising the names of innocent persons and he will not get away with this," he said further. AC, aside from alleging that the EFCC list will only contain the names of Obasanjo's "enemies" however demanded the yardstick which the commission used to determine the number of corrupt persons. "It is clear from the beginning that Atiku is the target of this government. This list is nothing but a continuation of the smear campaign which the Presidency has embarked upon in the last two years.
"It is worrisome that EFCC, which itself is a creation of the law, is flouting the law of the land with impunity. This is because the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Report upon which EFCC and the Presidency based their allegations of corruption on the Vice President has been set aside by three different courts.
"It is therefore contempt of the court for EFCC to continue to maintain that Atiku is corrupt based on the same PTDF Report which three separate courts have set aside," the party said. Continuing, Mohammed, who spoke for the party, asserted that Obasanjo "has shown beyond doubts that EFCC is not a credible agency and as such its report should be disregarded by all Nigerians.
"In Akure last Saturday, Obasanjo said to the hearing of the entire world that since Olusegun Mimiko (former Housing Minister, now gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Ondo State) refused his entreaties to support the governor, Olusegun Agagu, for second term, he will be arrested by the EFCC. "This has shown clearly that EFCC is nothing but a willing tool in the hands of Obasanjo. Therefore, all those who will appear on the corruption list of EFCC are those who have disagreed politically with Obasanjo," the AC said further.
When THISDAY contacted the PPA presidential candidate, Kalu, he did not pick his mobile phone nor did he respond to the text messages sent to him but the AC gubernatorial candidate in Delta State, Mr. Peter Okocha, said he will not respond to the allegations stressing that he would await the briefing of his party, AC, since the list was said to have been sent to the party. But Jigawa State deputy governor, Hadejia, who is running for the governorship ticket on the platform of ANPP while his boss, Saminu Turaki, has joined the PDP, said information available about the list is "tentative because there are no details yet as to the reasons (for disqualification).
"Almost all the credible people are on the list and this is surprising. I have never deputised for the governor (Turaki) since I was appointed, yet I'm on the list. How could I have been on the list when my governor, who has been the only one running the affairs of the state was not there. Are you not suspecting anything?
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja has refused the prayer of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, asking the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from substituting his name as the PDP gubernatorial candidate for Rivers State. Justice Binta Murtala Nyako ordered INEC to file its statement of defence to the substantive suit filed by Amaechi and promised to give the matter accelerated hearing in view of its sensitive nature.