PDP Urges Buhari To Be Fair In Probing Jonathan
Prominent Nigerians and groups have supported President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to probe the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
In as much as this stand is supported by many, its scope was divided as there was disagreement on the time frame for those to be probed, while some want the probe to be limited to GEJ’s administration only, it was countered by some that it should extend to all past governments. However, both parties calls for the extensive, thorough, transparent and not witch-hunting kind of probe.
President Buhari speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, this weekend, said he met a near empty treasury on assumption of office, restated his decision to probe the Jonathan’s government to recover the billions of dollars that have not been properly accounted for.
Last week, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), asked the President to probe the immediate past administration over the $5.5bn dividends said to have been paid to the Federal Government by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited. Taxes and dividends recorded trough the NLNG during the GEJ’s administration is expected to be looked into.
When probe was first mentioned, Dr. Jonathan urged President Buhari not to focus only on his administration, maintaining that it would amount to a witch-hunt if only his administration was probed.
According to him, “I think in Nigeria, there are a lot of things that will be probed, very many things, even debts owed by states and debts owed by this country from 1960 up to this time. They say it is Jonathan’s administration that owed these debts… I believe that anybody that is coming for probe must also ensure that this probe is extended beyond the Jonathan administration. Otherwise, to me, it will be witch-hunt. If we are very sincere, it is not only the Jonathan administration that should be probed.”
Speaking with Vanguard, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said “the investigation must be within the ambit of the law and respect for fundamental human rights of citizens, adding that a government must plan for the future and not necessarily spending its energy looking into the past”.
According to Metuh, “It is the right thing to probe and investigate but there must be respect for fundamental human rights of the people. It must be carried out within the confines of the law, there must be no witch-hunt. There must be plans for the future, the government can go ahead with the probe, but must put forward those things that will move the country forward because very soon, Nigerians will be asking questions on insecurity, incessant arrest, the state of the dollar, among others.”The National President of the Arewa Youths Consultative, Alhaji Yerima Usman Shettima, argued that the probe should be all inclusive and not limited to the past PDP administration alone.
In his words, “Nobody is opposed to probing anybody that is found wanting but the probe should not be lopsided. We are all aware that if Buhari wants to probe, he will be totally committed. The probe should not be a witch-hunt, it must be all inclusive. There are some people, who are close to him, they should also be probed, it should be a fight against corruption and not a selected few.”
The EFCC have started probing the immediate past Delta State Government let by Emmanuel Uduaghan.
