No apology for supporting Buhari’s anti-corruption war – Clark

IJAW national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, on Friday, reiterated his support for the anti-corruption war of President Mohammadu Buhari just the way he supported President Goodluck Jonathan and other past administrations.

The elder statesman noted that corruption was the bane of development in the country.

Chief Clark spoke with newsmen at his residence in Warri, Delta State on Friday.

Obviously reacting to a publication in one of the national dailies where he was accused of failing to speak against corruption during the administration of President Jonathan, Clark berated his critics over his stance on the anti-corruption drive of present government.

The former Federal Commissioner for Information said he has always spoken against corruption even in the past.

The Ijaw leader said he has resigned from active politics, noting that those accusing him were unpatriotic and vicious.

According to him, he was in the forefront of Nigerians who fought against former governor of Delta, Chief James Ibori, before he was eventually jailed.

“Ordinarily, I shouldn’t have replied to it because whoever is the author is vicious, wicked and not a patriotic Nigerian.

“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written that I never spoke against corruption during the time of former President Jonathan.

“I said the author is being vicious because I have been talking about corruption even before the time of Jonathan. In the first place, I talked about corruption during the time of erstwhile presidents Obasanjo and Yar’ Adua.

“I remember at that time, I was in the forefront of fighting our former governor, Chief James Ibori, leading to him being sentenced in United Kingdom.

“Every Nigerian is aware of this. I led the crusade against him especially when a judge dropped the charges against him,” the elder statesman stated.

He added that under Jonathan, he held private talks with the former president on corrupt governors in the country, noting that some of their cases were still pending in various courts.

He wondered why his critics were accusing him of keeping mum on corruption.