OBJ, Reps in bitter exchange over who fathers corruption in Nigeria

For daring to tag constituency projects as corruption, the House of Representatives has called out Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, saying that he remains the godfather of corruption.

This came as Obasanjo on Monday, at an event in Minna, the Niger State capital, while addressing the opening of the two-day investment forum organised by the state government, described constituency projects as corruption.

Obasanjo had said, “The Sultan talked about roads; I hope our lawmakers will use their position and act positively so that when they put in road projects in the budget, they will not turn them into what they now term as constituency projects?
“You and I know what constituency projects mean. It is simply corruption.”

But responding to the comment, chairman, Reps Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, said the lawmakers response to Obasanjo’s comment was already “fully captured” in the House reaction to Obasanjo’s name calling in 2016.

The House had in the response Namdas described Obasanjo as the “grandfather of corruption in Nigeria.”

“We won’t respond to any corruption allegations by Obasanjo against us anymore. We have replied him enough and our position remains what we said earlier. It has not changed.

“I refer you to our comprehensive position on Obasanjo in 2016. That is still our position,” he said.

He added, “Undoubtedly, former President Obasanjo is understandably angry with the National Assembly as an institution, having foiled his ambition for a third term in office even after trying to corrupt the members with a bribe of at least N50m each.

“Lest we forget, the person who introduced corruption to the National Assembly is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He birthed the 4th Republic National Assembly with corrupt practices from day one; indeed the first day of the Republic.

“He bribed the PDP, ANPP and the AD legislators on their inauguration in 1999 to vote against the majority candidate of the PDP, (the late) Dr. Chuba Okadigbo. That was how Senator Evan Enwerem became the Senate President.

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“Have we forgotten the sacks of money displayed on the floor of the House of Representatives, being bribe money paid by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to some honourable members to impeach the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Ghali N’abba?

“Have we forgotten that Obasanjo used his position as President to extort businessmen and contractors to build his presidential library?
In separate letters to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, in January 2016, Obasanjo had accused the lawmakers of being extravagant and corrupt in the face of economic challenges in the country.

The former president had also in November of the same year, described members of the Senate and House of Representatives as “unarmed robbers” when the allegation of budget padding was raised against principal members of Reps by its former Committee on Appropriation chairman, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

 

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