Buhari’s anti-corruption war losing steam ― CSOs

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations under the aegis of Civil Society Groups for Accountability and Probity has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is failing in the anti-corruption drive of his administration.

National Secretary of the coalition,  Mr Jonathan Ogwuche, while addressing a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, urged the President to up his game in ensuring that there were no sacred cows in line with his commitment to tackle corruption in Nigeria.

Ogwuche, said Buhari should be commended for taking a bold step to tackle the endemic corruption in the, he said had negatively impacted on the nation’s development.

He, however, said it appeared that the anti-graft war was losing steam based on what he described as selective prosecution.

He said: “The Civil Society Groups for Accountability and Probity has keenly followed the twists and turns of events with respect to the war on corruption.

“From our vox pop, the indications are rife that the greater percentage of the public have come to agree that the anti-corruption campaign of this administration has lost its steam and rather assumed a political colouration to wit; those who have cross-carpeted to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) or are sympathetic to the fortunes of the APC have had their financial crimes and/or corruption charges swept under the carpet.

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“This clearly only spells doom for national development and in the same light does not portend well for our democracy.

“Indeed, there is a litany of such corruption cases that have been waved with the whiff of complacent winds from the Agencies who ordinarily should have presided over the prosecution of the characters behind these crimes. This is utterly saddening and disenchanting, to say the least,” he said.

He noted quite a number of politicians who were facing prosecution until cross-carpeting to APC, either have their cases quashed or discontinued, saying the National Chairman of APC was quoted in a section of the media that “once you defect to APC your sins are forgiven.”

Ogwuche said: “It is on record that many of those being shielded have several outlandish properties/assets in several choice locations within Nigeria and abroad for which he did not include in his assets declaration forms while the Code of Conduct Bureau maintains a deafening aloft silence without charging him before the Tribunal like they were swift to do in the case of His Lordship the  Honorable Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen.”