Chairman of
the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay
(SAN) said, yesterday, that calls for
the sack of Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, were meant to
weaken President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Prof. Sagay
also described calls for Amaechi’s removal as “malicious.”
Two Justices
of the Supreme Court, Sylvester Ngwuta and John Inyang
Okoro, whose homes were
raided by operatives of the Department
of State Services (DSS), last month,
had, in separate letters to the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN)
Mahmud Mohammed and the National Judicial Council (NJC) alleged that the former Rivers State
governor made entreaties to them, to swing
judgment in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over pending
governorship election cases before them.
Justice Ngwuta
specifically alleged that Amaechi begged
him to facilitate the removal of Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose as well
as invalidate the election of Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike.
In his
letter, he specifically mentioned
Amaechi and Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, as two top
APC leaders who approached him on election matters.
Taking it up
from there, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
and some Nigerians asked president Buhari to
remove Amaechi from his cabinet,
pending investigation of corruption against him.
But,
addressing newsmen, yesterday, in Lagos, Prof. Sagay, who spoke in his personal
capacity, said agitation for Amaechi’s removal
was meant to weaken the Buhari administration and cast aspersion on its
anti-corruption crusade.
“Mere
allegations cannot have enough weight to
affect the position of such a high
official as Amaechi, otherwise, knowing the disposition of Nigerians for
putting people down, no office holder will be safe in this country.
“It is,
therefore, improper and ridiculous to compare
the position of the Justices, in whose houses millions of naira and
hundreds of thousands of dollars were recovered, to that of Amaechi against
whom there is only the mere ipse dixit of the judges.
“The sudden
anti-Amechi narrative is consistent with the objectives and interests of chief
promoters and funders of judicial corruption during election petitions. Those powerful opposition politicians are
well known. To be more specific, they are from Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states.
They are the ones who financed judicial corruption and brought that great
institution, the Judiciary to its knees, after the 2015 elections.’’
“These
allegations are intended to undermine and weaken the Buhari-led Federal
Government, by depriving it of the service, input, ideas and productivity of
some of its brightest stars. This was intended to set the stage for charging
the government with ineffectiveness and cluelessness. In other words, it was an
attempt to reduce the image and perception of this federal government to the
low level of their own late and unlamented government.
“Therefore,
the call for Amaechi to step down is malicious and vindictive. It should be
ignored with complete ignominy.’’
Prof.
Sagay, who accused the Supreme Court
Justices of “diversionary tactics,” further advised them to face the grave
allegations against them.
“This outburst
by the two Justices is surprising, considering that it was totally unrelated to
be raids of their premises, their arrest and subsequent charges before our
courts. Men of that status should not
indulge in such diversionary activities in the midst of grave and ominous
charges facing them. I would have
thought that they would use the time at their disposal to prepare their defences
against the serious charges they face.
“In any case,
given their status as Supreme Court Justices, even in the middle of the
adversity confronting them, they should not have engaged in a distraction
totally incompatible with the dignity and respect that their high offices
attract.
“It is demeaning
for them to abandon their legitimate defence in order to smear a high official
of the Buhari government, which latter, they probably consider to be the source
of their predicament.”
Sunnewsonline
Follow Solenzo Blog on
0 Comments