NIGERIA FOR CHANGE ASSOCIATION Suite 306, Copper House Zone 5, Wuse, ABUJA nigeria4changeassoc@gmail 08069182472; 08189158685 N21 BILLION CAMPAIGN FUND: THE AUDACITY OF CORRUPTION, AUDACITY OF ABUSE OF OFFICE AND AUDACITY OF LAWLESSNESS BY PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN 1.0 CAMPAIGN FUND RAISING It was a night of Naira rain Saturday, 20th December 2014, as President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election fund raiser recorded over N21 billion from various donors. The PDP fund raising dinner was held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Mr. Tunde Ayeni who chaired the occasion threw the event open with a donation of N2billion on behalf of himself and unnamed friends. The Forum of Governors, under the aegis of the PDP donated N1.05b. The Bauchi State Governor, who spoke on behalf of the PDP Governors, said 21 governors donated N50m each. A breakdown of the donations as announced indicated that donors in the Oil and Gas Sector donated N5b; Transport and Aviation, N1b, Food and Agriculture, N500m; Power, N5m, Constructing N310m, Road Construction, N250m; those in Real Estate and Building donated N4b; National Automotive Association N450m; and Shelter Development Limited, N250m. The Chairman of the fund raiser Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana, donated N5b on behalf of himself and his friends. 2.0 AUDACITY OF CORRUPTION This campaign fund confirms that President Goodluck Jonathan is not just corrupt and corruption personified but practices corruption with reckless abandon. President Goodluck Jonathan glamourizes corruption at its zenith. The donors have made corrupt investment in President Goodluck Jonathan for the over-inflated contracts, unfair concessions and suppression of rules that made them earn blood money. The donors are making investment for another four years of corrupt business as usual. Ironically, President Goodluck Jonathan still retain the audacity to declare that he is not corrupt and that he has fought corruption more than any Government in Nigeria. 2.1 FIGHTING CORRUPTION WITHOUT JAILING PEOPLE President Goodluck Jonathan on 9th January 2015 said that his administration fought corruption more than other past administrations in the country. He spoke in Enugu while flagging off his second term campaign. He said Buhari wanted power to throw people into jail as was the case in 1983 Igbo politicians like the former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, Chief Jim Nwobodo and Chief Sam Mbakwe out of sheer wickedness. President Goodluck Jonathan said corruption is fought by blocking loopholes where public funds are looted from and not by throwing people to jail. In making this statement, President Goodluck Jonathan thinks we know nothing. The method of fighting corruption by blocking loopholes merely goes for crime prevention. What happens to majority cases where the corruption practices have been committed? Since you don’t jail, those people will go free and turn round to fund his re-election for freedom unto corruption. The punishment of jail term is the prescription of all the laws on crimes of corruption. This explains why EFCC, ICPC and Police are incapacitated in the fight against corruption, granting state pardon and entering nolle prosequi for persons convicted of corrupt offences and standing trial for corrupt practices. Fighting corruption without jailing people is fighting corruption by whims and caprices and not according to law. It introduces lack of equality before the law and destruction of the supremacy of the law. The lack of equality before the law is in itself corrupt practice. While those stealing billions will enjoy capricious presidential treatment, majority people, the poor will have to contend with jail terms for their petty crimes. Once corrupt practices are not punished according to law, preventive mechanisms put in place must be defeated to enable those classes of people have their own share of corruption. President Goodluck Jonathan did not know that he has succeeded in making Nigerians to know that true fight against corruption can only be fought by Muhammed Buhari and not him. So, those who want freedom from corruption should vote for Buhari 2.2 JONATHAN SQUANDERED $55 BILLION OIL MONEY Olusegun Obasanjo accused President Goodluck Jonathan of squandering $25 billion crude oil savings left behind by his administration. He said more than $25 billion inherited by Musa Yar’Adua was raised $35 billion but the Jonathan’s administration squandered all, including also the $40 billion in Nigeria’s foreign revenue account after paying the outstanding debt at the time. Olusegun Obasanjo also said former President Yar’Adua raised the revenue to $60 billion but under President Goodluck Jonathan, the revenues plummeted. President Goodluck Jonathan has not come to deny this strong allegation of corruption and squandermania. All he could do was to resort to infantile and guilty conscience emotional reaction by describing Obasanjo as motor park tout. President Goodluck Jonathan must know that it is only the ignorant Nigerians that will not treat Obasanjo’s allegation with seriousness. Once an allegation is made, the truthfulness of the allegation or its successful denial that is important to the public. The malicious motive or moral turpitude of the author only comes to play when it is proved to be false. 2.3 BABANGIDA DECLARING HIS REGIME AS SAINT Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida has scored his regime high given the level of corruption that pervades the Nigerian society today. He said he was able to manage the economy and still left surplus in the treasury with a paltry $7 billion oil revenue compared to what is being earned by the government today. He said he has to accept but anybody with a sense of fairness has no option but to call us saints. “I was making less than $7 billion in oil revenue but in the same period there were governments that were making between $200 billion and $300 billion”. The reaction of President Goodluck Jonathan to this statement and that of Obasanjo is that he will expose failures of ex-Heads of State. 3.0 AUDACITY OF ABUSE OF POWERS The campaign fund of N21 billion was raised on audacious consideration that nothing can happen. Mr. President for whom they are raising the fund for is all powerful and capable of deploying his powers to protect them that brought money from corrupt and illegal sources to benefit him. With Mr. President as the beneficiary, no state institution can investigate and bring to justice the criminality of such fund. Police, EFCC, ICPC and other regulatory institutions cannot question what took place. We watched helplessly the horrendous glamourization of corruption by President Goodluck Jonathan. 4.0 AUDACITY OF LAWLESSNESS President Goodluck Jonathan has the audacity to superintend and benefit from such reprehensible sources of fund because he is above the law and effectively subdued the law to be under his feet. He would want us to see dictatorship or authoritarianism elsewhere but this type of action is dictatorship or authoritarian gesture par excellence. 4.1 MONEY LAUNDERING The campaign fund of N21 billion is exemplification of money laundering. The money is clearly from suspicious sources. A visit to Nigerian Banking Halls brings the implications of Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as Amended to mind. The Banks are enjoined to report to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit any transfer in excess of $10,000; any transaction in excess of N5 million for individuals and N10 million for body corporate. They are to report all transactions considered as suspicious. President Goodluck Jonathan launders money with reckless abandon. Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s private jet laundered $9.3 million to South Africa with the full knowledge of Mr. President. South African Government confiscated the money. Three weeks after the $9.3 million was confiscated by South African Government, the South African authorities have seized another $5.7 million of money laundering under the guise of going to purchase arms. There is nowhere in the world that one does legitimate transaction with physical cash of such volume. If President Goodluck Jonathan has rendered money laundering law in Nigeria impotent, it is not so in South Africa and other nations where rule of law is the order. 4.2 COMPANIES MAKING DONATIONS TO A POLITICAL PARTY, POLITICAL ASSOCIATION AND FOR POLITICAL PURPOSE The campaign fund of N21 billion brings to mind the provision of Section 38(2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) as follows: A company shall not have or exercise power directly or indirectly to make a donation or gift of any property or funds to a political party or political association, or for any political purpose; and if any company, in breach of this subsection makes any donation or gift of its property to a political party or political association, or for any political purpose, the officers in default and any member who voted for the breach shall be jointly and severally liable to refund to the company the sum or value of the donation or gift and in addition the company and every such officer or member shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine equal to the amount or value of the donation or gift. The donors of the Oil and Gas Sector, Transport and Aviation, Food and Agriculture, Power, Real Estate and Building, National Automative Association and Shelter Development Limited are companies registered by Corporate Affairs Commission. Accordingly, the companies involved have violated Section 38(2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). We know that some of the friends of Mr. Tunde Ayeni and Prof. Jerry Gana are incorporated Companies under the CAMA. 4.3 APPROPRIATE MATTER FOR INVESTIGATION BY EFCC In an atmosphere of supremacy of the law and equality before the law it is quite appropriate for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate and take the appropriate legal action against all persons (natural and artificial) that made donation towards the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan. EFCC has not shown any interest or initiative to investigate the criminal component of the donations made. Prof. Jerry Gana and Mr. Tunde Ayeni and their friends should be investigated on how they got such volume of money. The volume of money raises suspicion of corrupt practices and money laundering. The PDP Governors should be investigated. The law is settled that the Governors can be investigated for the source of N50 million because by their legitimate income each of them cannot raise N50 million. We know they cannot be arrested and prosecuted by virtue of the immunity clause but they can be investigated and the money recovered and kept in EFCC custody until they can be prosecuted. We intend to bring petition to EFCC and test their ability to prove equality before the law. 4.4 TAXATION IMPLICATION We would like to know what kind of tax paid by these individuals and companies to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and State Board of Internal Revenue. The tax records of these individuals and companies are necessary to see whether honesty, legality and patriotism are at play Thanks. ELAIGWU E. APEH, Esq. President NIGERIA FOR CHANGE ASSOCIATION.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 13:34:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015