- Wonders Why SGF Lawal is Not Fired, Arrested or Prosecuted
- Says Minister of Transport Admitted Spending $500,000 On a One Day Dinner for Professor Wole Soyinka
- Maintains Former British Prime Minister, CNNMoney, Transparency International Reports Vindicated Jonathan
By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Pastor Reno Omokri has called on the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) Mr. Osita Okechukwu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), to stop deceiving gullible Nigerian with its so called fight against corruption.
Reno who called the attention of the VON DG and APC to the reports of the Transparency International and CNNMoney , advised that they stick to facts not propaganda.
He made the call while reacting to a statement credited to Director General of Voice Of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu to the effect that, “ex-president Jonathan and his party “railroaded” Nigerians into “abject poverty, food insecurity and deficit infrastructure” via “planlessness and squandermania”.
Reno while debunking the claim that President Buhari is fighting corruption, informed that the last time Nigeria made progress on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index was in 2014 under former President Jonathan when we moved eight places from number 144 to number 136 under Goodluck Jonathan.
He said that 2014, under President Goodluck Jonathan marked the most improvement Nigeria has ever made since Transparency International began publishing the annual Corruption Perception Index in 1995.
The Special Adviser recalled how former president Jonathan fired two of his ministers in the persons of Professor Barth Nnaji and Stella Oduah just because their names were mentioned in corruption scandal but wondered why President Buhari and APC is still with a Minister of Transport that admitted to have spent $500,000 on a one day dinner for Professor Wole Soyinka and only suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, who was caught red handed looting funds meant for IDPs.
He wondered why Lawal has not been fired, arrested or prosecuted by a government claiming to be fighting Corruption.
According to him, APC government known with a padded budget scandal that spends borrowed monies on luxuries for favored individuals can’t pull the wool over the eyes of Transparency International.
Reno reminded that Transparency International took note of the Jonathan administration’s e-wallet system that cut out the corruption in Nigeria’s fertilizer procurement system, the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) which weeded out 50,000 ghost workers from the Federal civil service, the cashless policy and the fact that the Jonathan government promptly fired two ministers (Professor Barth Nnaji and Stella Oduah) mentioned in corruption scandals in arriving at their rating.
Adding that since 2014, Nigeria HAS NOT improved in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index ranking and has remained 136 in 2015 and are still 136 on the latest CPI ranking released in 2017.
He therefore asked: “If it were true that the Buhari administration was really fighting corruption, why hasn’t Nigeria made progress in the CPI?
He continued: “The answer is because you can deceive some gullible Nigerians but you cannot deceive Transparency International.
Reno who declined to join issues with VON DG on economy yet, dared him to go to Wuse Market, Abuja, or Mile 12 Market Lagos or even Rimi Market Kano and say that the economy is faring better under APC administration and see if he will survive the experience.
He said the assessment of CNN Money and the verdict of former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who said on October 12, 2012 as follows: “Yes, we’ve been hearing about China and India for years …but it’s hard to believe what’s happening in Brazil, in Indonesia, in Nigeria too,” attest to Jonathan’s performance.
Reno said the fact remains that under Jonathan, Nigeria experienced unprecedented growth