'Erring Govs Won't Escape'
- My Case Against Dariye's 'Criminal' Acts, By Obasanjo
BY EMMA EKE AND FABIAN ODUM
AN emotional President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday put the issues in Plateau and Anambra States beyond legality, politics and constitutionality. He said there was a moral question that had propelled the untoward happenings in both states.
Stressing that people wallowed in lies and deceit without recourse to the truth of the matter, the President said: "There is a great case of morality in Plateau. There is a great, great case of morality in Anambra, which people do not look at.
"As long as a country continues to put truth in disfavour, as it becomes our greatest dilemma today, we will be wallowing in lies, deceit, shame, disgrace and underdevelopment."
On his monthly live radio programme, 'President Explains' Obasanjo, whose voice rose to high pitch as he itemised perceived crimes of some of the state governors, maintained his hard-fighting stance against corruption, and promised that the cases of embattled Plateau governor, Chief Joshua Dariye and his Anambra counterpart, Dr. Chris Ngige would not be treated with kid gloves.
Reflecting on the activities of some of the governors, the President subtly questioned the seeming aiding and abetting of the immoral acts as deduceable from reactions of some Nigerians to his government's stand on the various issues, particularly those of Anambra and Plateau.
He asked: "Is it ethically wise and right for a governor to establish an airline when he is in office?... Is it ethically right for a governor to establish radio and television stations while in office?... Is it wise when a governor is interrogated and released only on bail, for the State Assembly of that governor to say it is not their business... There is a great, great, great issue of morality in Anambra which people don't look at".
And on the case of some governors, who have been indicted for one violation of the law on corruption or the other, he said it was the duty of the various State Houses of Assembly to check the excesses of their chief executives.
The President criticised some governors, who, he said, had hidden under the cover of constitutional immunity to perpetuate crime, adding "even if they are not brought to book now, they will still face the music after their tenure."
Determined to prove that the anti-corruption crusade of his administration is on course, the President said the issue at stake bordered on several things including the morality question.
He was short of saying that the law court stood between his crusading effort and the suspects, both past and present. He revealed that the Federal Government took on a serving Minister and a past one following information it got outside the country and let the court into the matter.
His words: "The two that I have referred to is as a result of information we got; we looked at it and put them to court. It should not be the job of the government because the court has to play its own part."
On the issue of elected officers declaring their assets before taking oath of office, Obasanjo said, "I don't know what the law would say about the validity of his (ostensibly Governor dariye of Plateau) case; I don't know. The Constitution prescribes that no elected or politically appointed person should have a foreign account. It is there in the Constitution. Can anybody breach the Constitution with impunity and get away with it?" he queried.
He described as deceit and insincerity the approach being adopted by the leaders from Anambra State. There is a serious case of morality and breach of agreement involved, he insisted.
However, he gave his administration a pass mark for being bold enough to declare a state of emergency in Plateau State when it became evident that there was a total breakdown of law and order there.
"I participated in the peace committee set up by the administrator (Gen. Chris Ali) and as at today, we are satisfied that though there is yet to be a total normalcy there, a lot of achievements have been recorded.
"For instance, the salaries of workers and pensions, which were not paid before the state of emergency, have been cleared."
On the recent rating of Nigeria by Transparency International as the third most corrupt country in the, the President said that the government "is rejecting the rating based on the questionable yardstick adopted by the body."
He summarised as parochial the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) used by Transparency International, which, he said, fails to take into accounts all the efforts being made by the government to fight corruption.
However, he said, "We are determined to continue the fight against corruption using Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Police as tools to win the war," he said.
The Federal Government, the President explained, has concluded plans to encourage the establishment of transnational corporations to do business in most of the African countries where Nigeria had played leading roles in maintaining peace.
Such countries include Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire and the Central African sub-region.
On the reforms in the government, he said that now that the economic reform programme was getting over, the next focus should be the political arena.
According to him, there must be a change of approach to politics in the country such that the various political parties should have a reorientation of their members, to de-emphasis money politics.
Regarding the achievement of his administration on improving the image of the country, the President said "In the last five years, Nigeria has ceased to be a pariah state with the visits of world leaders including the Queen of England, the President of France, Prime Minister of Canada, the United States President.
"And virtually all the G8 country leaders have come to this country, as a sign of the world's acceptance of the changes that have been witnessed in our country."
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