Former President Jonathan has said those Nigerians who accuse him of corruption are the most corrupt.
In an advance copy of ‘Against the Run of Play,’ a book which details how the former president lost the 2015 election, seen by an online medium, TheCable, Jonathan said those who were quick to make allegations of corruption against other people harboured loads of the virus.
“By virtue of being President of Nigeria, I have come to know so many things about so many people,” he said.
“Some of the most corrupt Nigerians are the ones who speak most loudly about corruption. Once you have access to the media in Nigeria, you have the liberty to accuse others of corruption regardless of what you are doing.”
Also, one of the issues for which Jonathan was pilloried was his refusal to publicly declare his assets as the late Umaru Yar’Adua, his predecessor, did.
But in the book, he said it was a matter of conviction for him, and that he had advised Yar’ Adua against it.
“I remember I told the late President Yar’ Adua that it was wrong to declare our assets publicly and I explained why,” he said.
“I told him that the drafters of the law knew what they were doing when they wrote the provisions the way they did, such that assets of public officials have to include that of their spouses.
“Imagine a businessman whose wife was invited into government and she has to declare (hers and husband’s) assets publicly. I told him that what the law required was to declare and those who have questions can then apply the same law to find out.”
He accused the media of bias for supposedly not harassing President Muhammadu Buhari whom he said did not publicly declare his assets as he promised.
“The same media and civil society that attacked me kept quiet when President Buhari refused to make public his asset declaration form as he promised,” Jonathan said.
Meanwhile, Presidency has reacted to claims attributed to the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan, in a new book, which quotes him as saying his family is being harassed by the present administration.
Jonathan also picked holes in the manner of prosecuting the ongoing war against corruption.
But in a response issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in Abuja, on Wednesday, the Presidency maintained that only former government officials who abused their trust had reasons to fear under this dispensation.
It said Jonathan’s family was not being harassed by this administration which it said only allowed the law to take its course.
The statement read: “The Presidency is constrained to respond to the banner headline story in a national newspaper of Wednesday, April 26, entitled: “Buhari’s govt harassing my family, says Jonathan.’’
“The paper said former President Goodluck Jonathan made the allegation in a new book, “Against The Run of Play,” written by the chairman of ThisDay Editorial Board, Mr Olusegun Adeniyi.
“The former president also reportedly disagreed with the style being used by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in fighting corruption.
“We make bold to state unequivocally that President Buhari harasses nobody; he merely allows the law to take its course. For the umpteenth time, we say that anybody without skeleton in his or her cupboard has nothing to fear about the fangs of the anti-corruption initiative.
“Fear belongs only to those who have abused trust while in office. Anybody who feels aggrieved is free to approach the courts to seek redress or justice.
“President Buhari believes in the rule of law and that is why his campaign against corruption is anchored on that plank.
“With regard to President Buhari’s anti-graft style, which the former president deprecates, given the scale of revelations and recoveries so far by the anti-corruption agencies, it is obvious that corruption had an uninhibited course during our recent past.
“In any case, time will give the verdict on whose style of fighting corruption ultimately yielded the most dividends. For now, President Buhari is resolute and single-minded in the fact that his crusade against graft is not targeted at any individual or group. He firmly believes that national interest must always be placed above personal interest, no matter who is involved.”
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