· Malami, Kyari, Others named
· How suspicion could mar exercise
In his continued search for acceptability and restoration of confidence in the people, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may have ordered the invitation and interrogation of more heads of parastatals and former ministers under ex- President Mohammed Buhari for investigation on alleged corrupt practices and abuse of offices.
MMS Plus gathered that as directed the Department of State Services(DSS) would be going for more serving heads of agencies in the coming weeks but the immediate past Minister for Justice and Attorney -General of the Federation(AGF), Mallam Abubakar Malami’s invitation for interrogation is coming soonest over a series of allegation bothering on abuse of office and a pending case of missing 48million barrels of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude oil in storage at several ports in China.
While the source could not establish the relationship between the missing barrels of crude oil and the prevailing fuel subsidy sleaze, he informed that the Group Chief Executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mallam Mele Kyari had also been listed for interrogation, a development that fueled the speculation at the weekend that he had been suspended from office shortly after the suspension and arrest of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN),Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
Meanwhile, the list has triggered sentiments along ethnic dimension, with insinuations in some circles that the President is carrying out ethnic cleansing against a section of the country. With a seeming division already created with this move, the Presidency is said to be adopting caution in managing the information of the invitation and interrogations.
CBN Governor became the first casualty of the move for a renewed Nigeria with his suspension from office with immediate effect.
A statement issued by the Director, Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey noted that the suspension was sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.
The statement further observed that Mr. Emefiele had been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate, Mr. Folashodun Shonubi who would act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of investigation and the reforms.
Reacting to Emefiele’s suspension, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Sunday called on DSS to carry out a sweeping arrest and prosecution of heads of agencies and ministries under ex-President Mohammadu Buhari , saying it has become necessary because of those known for abuse of offices through corrupt tendencies.
Frank in a statement in Abuja said heads of critical government agencies known to have serially abused their offices and allegedly stole the common wealth of the people must be brought to book.
He listed the CEOs to include :the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari and the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami.
Others are the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN); immediate past Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and ex-Minister of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq.
Frank, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, insisted that failure to arrest and prosecute these suspects known to have used their offices for selfish gain would show that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration would only be out to witch-hunt Emefiele now under DSS custody.
He added that without moving against the powerful cabal, the Tinubu’s administration would have lent credence to insinuations that it was only up against Christian political office holders as recently alluded to by the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-rufai.
Frank also called on the Tinubu’s administration to include beneficiaries of corruption proceeds from the affected MDAs in its list of suspects to be arrested and prosecuted.
He said, “Those who illegally benefited from illegal allocation of oil blocks and marginal oil fields championed by the NNPCL and the CBN’s Money Redesign Policy must be fished out and prosecuted.
“The execution of the National Social Investment Programme by Hajiya Farouk leaves a lot of questions to be answered. This is the time for Nigerians to know what really happened and how much was used to feed school pupils at home during COVID.
“The recent deception by Sirika who chattered an Ethiopian Airline Aircraft to deceive Nigerians that Nigeria Air has materialized must also be probed. Personal Assistant to ex-President Buhari, Tunde Sabiu must not be left out.”
