Anti-corruption group blasts Obasanjo over attack on Buhari

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, has said that former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, lacks the moral grounds to label any government, institutions, agencies, individuals as corrupt, considering the unresolved and lingering suspected corrupt acts perpetrated by the retired Army General.

The Executive Chairman of CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran said “to put it aptly, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo’s anti-corruption stance is pure hypocrisy and akin to ‘the kettle, calling the pot black’. We can say this even at the risk of sounding ‘supportive’ of the gluttonous  legislators who have frankly admitted as reported in the media to being ‘corrupt grandchildren of a corrupt grandfather’; both sides of the divide are indeed culpable in the infestation of corruption in the fabrics of our society. They are two sides of the same coin, actually!”

“We recall how all efforts to get Obasanjo to answer to allegations of corrupt practices over the Halliburton and Siemens Scandal against him were met with consciously and tactically placed obstacles that have shielded the former President from judicial and public scrutiny of his roles in the saga till date.”

The media had been awash recently with exchanges of banters dwelling on the ‘more corrupt’ between the loquacious ex-President and the legislature, with the earlier describing the latter as ‘a den of unarmed robbers’. In responding, some legislators have said that Obasanjo is the ‘grandfather of corruption’ in Nigeria.

In a brief narrative of what CACOL had done in the past on Obasanjo and his suspected corruption cases, Adeniran said “our Coalition submitted a petition against former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo (Rtd) to the EFCC on November 14th, 2007 at the Lagos Zonal Office on offences bordering on alleged conspiracy, fraudulent conversion of funds and abuse of office, foreign exchange malpractice and money laundering.”

“Following the submission and defense of our petition, an investigative panel was set up to look into the issues raised by our Coalition. Till date, we are still tracking the case and have even written to the EFCC as recently as May, this year for updates, but nothing is forthcoming.”

“We found it worrisome; indeed, when we discovered that a report on our petition that the EFCC had not officially released found its way into General Obasanjo’s Book titled ‘My Watch’, in which the former President published a purported report of the investigation panel (page 431 – 465). We had wondered why it was only the former President that appeared to have seen the report while the other stakeholders and the populace remain in the dark and groping. The experience definitely speaks volumes on why some apparently corrupt elements in our midst remain ‘powerful’, ‘untouchable’ and very well ‘above the law’ in spite of the fact that, constitutional footing/s for such status does not exist!” Adeniran added.

“Were it not against this sort of background, Obasanjo and his ‘grandchildren’ in the legislature ought to bury the heads in shame. A morally upright person would be more comfortable with clearing his name of the corruption allegations against him before pointing fingers. Four fingers are pointing right back at Obasanjo in whichever direction he points a finger to, in the decadence that presently obtains, for being profoundly suspect in the Nigerian situation almost on all plains.”

“The ongoing banters are insensitive and insulting to the people’s sensibilities. For the umpteenth time we call on the Attorney General of the Federation, the EFCC and other agencies to re-open the Halliburton and Siemens scandal case promptly, a case that has remained unresolved till date.” He concluded.