Oyo-Ita, Obono-Obla’s Arrest, Prosecution, Show Buhari’s Seriousness in Anti-Graft war – BMO
POLITICS DIGEST – The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has described the trial of the immediate past Head of the Service of the Federation, Winnifred Oyo-Ita and the arrest of a former Presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla, as positive proofs of President Muhammadu Buhari commitment to the fight against corruption.
The group said this is contrary to claims by opposition elements that the Federal Government has only been going after officials of past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administrations.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, BMO said it was a clear message to anyone with corruption tendencies, regardless of political affiliation.
“Nigerians have over the years seen how PDP elements have sought to rubbish the anti-graft credentials of President Buhari and his administration by selling a false impression of selective prosecution to the unsuspecting public.
“But yet again, this government is showing that it would not tolerate corrupt practices on its watch so soon after the trial of the Former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal began over a N500m Grass-cutting scandal.
“Now, another one-time senior official of the Buhari administration, Mrs. Oyo-Ita, is before a Federal High Court in Abuja to answer for her alleged indiscretion, even though some of the allegations stemmed from her previous roles as Director and Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service before her appointment as Head of Service.
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“She is on trial for fraud alongside her Special Assistant, Ubong Okon Effiok and some companies, in which she is believed to have interests, in relation to Duty Tour Allowances, (DTA), Estacodes, and conference fees’ fraud, as well as receiving kickbacks from contractors of various ministries and parastatals where she worked.
“And even though Oyo-Ita’s trial has only just opened in court, the fact that Nigeria’s immediate past foremost civil servant is in the dock is proof that this President is not only interested in the reckless past of the PDP era, but also in acts of corruption that may have been perpetrated under his watch,” it added.
BMO also spoke about the recent arrest of the suspended chairman of the Special Investigation Panel on Recovery of Public Property (SPIP) Okoi Obono-Obla, five months after he was declared wanted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“Here is one man that described himself as a loyalist of President Buhari and even claimed at a point that he was being persecuted for his loyalty to the President’s cause.
“But this didn’t stop the ICPC from declaring Obla wanted when he failed to make himself available to clear himself of allegations of ‘falsification of records and financial impropriety’ contained in a letter of suspension dated August 14, 2019, and signed by Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
“This is by all accounts an unprecedented move, especially as certain elements had claimed that the government was playing to the gallery by declaring the former Presidential aide wanted when it could have taken him in.
“Incidentally since his arrest by anti-graft officials last Friday, the naysayers have been quiet, but we are sure that like others before him, Mr. Obono-Obla will have his day in court especially as he had once claimed from hiding, that he was never given an opportunity to be heard.”
The Buhari group consequently urged Nigerians to disregard all allegations of skewed or lop-sided prosecution of corruption cases by the Buhari administration.
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