President Goodluck Jonathan
President
Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday took on critics of his government’s
posture in the fight against corruption, saying some of the critics were
very corrupt individuals.
The President has been under severe
criticisms from Nigerians over his attitude towards the fight against
corruption, especially among top officials of government.
In fact, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, in a scathing remark recently, said the
‘body language’ of the President showed that he was not interested in
fighting the scourge of corruption. The Speaker spoke at an event
organised by the Nigerian Bar Association to mark the 2013 International
Anti-corruption Day in Abuja on December 9, 2013.
But Jonathan in Abuja replied the
critics, saying some of them criticised his government over corruption
only to earn undeserved credibility.
He spoke shortly after swearing in the
chairman and two members of the National Population Commission; a member
of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences
Commission; and two special advisers at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The new special advisers are Senator
Suleiman Ajadi (National Assembly) and Ambassador Fidelia Njeze (New
Partnership for African Development).
The President said, “The society is so
funny that these days, anybody who wants to claim any element of
credibility at all will go to the television and accuse government of
corruption, that the President’s body language shows that he is not
fighting corruption or that he is not ready to fight corruption.
“Sometimes, even the very corrupt people
are those making these statements because if you attack government you
are insulated, you become an angel.
“If you want to be an angel, just attack the government, whatever you have done is covered.”
The President said he was convinced that
the ICPC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were working
hard to tackle corruption but that the agencies must prove to Nigerians
that they were performing.
He said while the anti-graft agencies
should naturally work without undue publicity, the negative comments by
Nigerians on the anti-corruption efforts had made it imperative for the
outfits to always flaunt their achievements.
He wondered why people would accuse his
government of not fighting corruption even when the EFCC recently made a
publication indicating that the commission had so far convicted 250
corrupt persons.
Jonathan said he did not subscribe to
the idea of people being convicted on the television before court trial
but that the agencies should be able to present their scorecards before
Nigerians regularly so that people would appreciate their efforts.
The President also warned public officials to be mindful of their statements.
He told the new NPC chairman, Chief Eze
Iheoma (SAN) that he sacked his predecessor, Chief Festus Odimegwu,
because of a certain statement that he made that brought credibility
problem to the commission.
Odimegwu had said that the country had
not had any credible census since 1816, blaming the irregularity on the
alleged distortion and falsification of figures for selfish and
political reasons.
The President said, “You have to be
mindful of the statements you make and that is not limited to the
National Population Commission alone but to all of us who are holding
offices.
“You must be very mindful and not make
statements that will create problem for the society. I dropped your
predecessor because of certain statements he made and brought
credibility problem to the commission.
“He is a fine gentleman, everybody knows
him, very cerebral. But an institution like the National Population
Commission must be one that people will believe in whatever you do.
“And if you make pronouncements that
will create credibility problem to that institution, the best thing is
for you to step aside for some other persons to step in because the
credibility of that institution is critical.
“Perception in most cases is stronger
than real; no matter what you do, if the perception is wrong then
society will not follow you.”
PUNCH
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