Jonathan not fighting corruption -Ex-ICPC boss, SAN A former Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, and the Chairman, Anti-Corruption Commission, Nigerian Bar Association, Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN), have said that the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is not serious in the fight against corruption. They lamented that corruption was on the increase, saying nothing tangible and substantial was being done to address the trend. They spoke in an interview with journalists in Ilorin on the sidelines of the public lecture on ‘Corruption – the bane of our society,’ organized by the Amicus International Club, in Ilorin, on Tuesday. Akanbi, who is a former president of the Court of Appeal, said corruption, kidnapping and other societal ills were on the rise. He stated that many institutions in the country, including the judiciary, were not helping in curbing corruption. Akanbi said, “Honestly, I do not see what is being done about corruption now. I ask myself these questions: Does it mean all the governors are corruption-free? Does it mean all the legislators are corruption-free? Does it mean the judiciary is corruption free? We know that it is happening but people are not being arrested, no action is being taken and the end result is that people accept bribe with impunity now. “At least, if they had taken few people to court, we would have known that something is being done. There is a general lull and the fight against corruption has gone down completely. That is why we are gearing up the tempo now so that people can be aware of it. “Now when you look at many people wanting to be governors, is it because they want to serve their people or that they want to go and ‘chop?’ It is apparent that many of them want to enrich themselves because they know that when you go there, you make money and become wealthy. Yet people are suffering; there is no development. Corruption, kidnapping and other ills of the society have gone on the increase. “Honestly, out of these governors, who have been arrested? We know about Oduahgate, and the billions of Naira that Sanusi alleged was missing. The terrible thing is that the judiciary is not helping. “The indices are that the moments are dark, the clouds have thickened, corruption is escalating, and we can not pretend. The Transparency International put us at the position of 136 most corrupt nation. You cannot deny it even though it is a perception.” Ali said that Jonathan’s administration was not fighting corruption at all. He urged Nigerians to know that corruption makes all the residents poorer in the short and long run. He added that even for those who are stealing the nation’s money, corruption makes them to be poorer. According to him, corrupt people stash the nation’s money abroad and mal-nourish Nigeria’s economy. He stated that corruption was counter-productive both to the corrupt and non-corrupt people. Culled from Punch.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:35:58 +0000
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