Posted by By KENNY ASHAKA, Kaduna on
Former Kaduna State military governor, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd) says the recent revelations by Otunba Oyewole Fasawe on how President Olusegun Obasanjo allegedly salted away millions of Naira from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has vindicated the stand of the opposition that the President is a great pretender and a corrupt leader.
Former Kaduna State military governor, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd) says the recent revelations by Otunba Oyewole Fasawe on how President Olusegun Obasanjo allegedly salted away millions of Naira from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has vindicated the stand of the opposition that the President is a great pretender and a corrupt leader.
Umar similarly took a swipe at the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, asking him to shut his mouth since he does not have the nerves to investigate the president.
He said in an interview in Kaduna weekend that the the revelations have also brought to the fore, the selective nature of thte operations of the EFCC
According to him, "President Obasanjo has been able to go undetected in breaking constitutional provisions in the past seven years and nine months. We have a president who has succeeded in creating a false impression of himself as an incorruptible and altruistic reformer.
"The National Assembly or at least the Senate had abdicated its oversight responsibility for whatever reason. How did he ( Obasanjo) do this? Well, by engaging in massive corruption himself while at the same time pretending to abhor the malaise. He also put in place two anti corruption agencies, the EFCC and the ICPC to demonstrate his resolve, in the fight against corruption".
Continuing, the former military governor said: "Unfortunately for Mr President, some discerning Nigerians have always been aware of this development even if they have been unable to restrain him. As God would have it, the President has through his vindictive nature and attempt at deception opened a can of worms that will be all over him at the end of his probe.
" Now, even that committee that had shown undue indifference to Mr President had accused him of misappropriation of PTDF Funds, even if they ridiculously recommended that he should be advised to desist from such act in the future. Now, Otuba Fasawe has provided a most damning evidence against the President".
He said in the light of these revelations, Nigerians expected that the EFCC would investigate the President, regretting that the Commission, has instead been 'wasting time or engaging in diversionary search for Obasanjo's wealth through the FBI."
Calling on Nigerians and in particular, the Senate to insist on finding out the source of this huge sum, it was his view that the search could begin 'by asking some of those major construction firms whose contracts were revoked soon as the President came to power in 1999 only to be reviewed upward soon after."
He asked the Senate to beam its search light on the NNPC, adding that the National Assembly would be shocked "of revelations of dirty deals involving the Presidency."