Tinubu's body language doesn't show he's ready to genuinely fight corruption - Former APC spokesman

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank has said the body language of President Bola Tinubu suggests that his government is not ready to genuinely fight corruption.

This is contained in a press release he made public on Friday in which he accused Tinubu of softly handling cases of public officers who were suspected of looting funds during their time of service in the country.

The statement also regretted that the President's move to go corrupt elements during his early days in office appears to have diminished or died.

Frank then urged the President to step up his efforts to hold corrupt officials accountable for their actions, so that the arrest and ongoing investigation of Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele and Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission AbdulRasheed Bawa do not appear to be motivated by a vendetta.

He further urged the President not to appoint to any position ex-governors and ex-ministers who have had corruption cases or criminal allegations levelled against them by anti-corruption agencies, "as doing so would make his anti-corruption drive a mere child's play."

According to the statement, the security agencies should also investigate the anomalies perpetrated in the oil and gas sector by ensuring that those who fraudulently benefitted from the fuel subsidy regime and bogus daily Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) consumption in the country, are made to refund the people’s money they looted in the process.

Frank said, “Many Nigerians were happy and commended the actions you took on these arrests but at this time we think a lot of the people who looted the country under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would have by now been arrested and being prosecuted in court.

“Unfortunately, no further action has not been taken to bring them to justice and information at our disposal show that a lot of these looters are negotiating with your government for soft landing.

“Most importantly, the zeal with which you started the fight against corruption which Nigerians applauded with the hope that you have come to surprise the country by genuinely fighting corruption has clearly died down and probably may not happen again.

“If care is not taken, it might turn out that Emefiele and Bawa were just victims. In other words, from your body language so far, we don’t think you are ready to genuinely continue the fight against corrupt government officials but only after those perceived not to have supported your bid to emerge as President.

“Otherwise there are a lot of looters out there which despite the plethora of evidence of corrupt tendencies against them are going around freely and it is very likely that nothing will happen to them anymore.”

He continued: “It is very clear that most of them might be appointed into your administration as Ministers or other key government positions which would be tantamount to rewarding looters.

“For instance, it is highly unbecoming that Senator Godswill Akpabio, with all the atrocious actions he took as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in emasculating and annexing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to frustrate development of the region as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, has now been brought back and reworded with the position of President of the Senate, while Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman who was sacked over corruption allegations as managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is now Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination.

“Most likely, Nigerians will see more known looters rewarded with juicy positions in his cabinet.

“Besides, former governors and ex-ministers that should have no role in the present administration due to series of petitions against them at the EFCC but that are perhaps pushing for positions include former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva (now angling to be re-elected as governor in Bayelsa State), former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, former Personal Assistant to ex-President Buhari, Tunde Sabiu and former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.

“Others are former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hammid Ali, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamo, former Managing Directors and Sole Administrator of NDDC as well as former Service Chiefs appointed by Buhari.”

He concluded that poor people were currently suffering as a result of Tinubu's policies, such as the withdrawal of fuel subsidies.