A group, the Equity Movement has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of doing a disservice to the nation over the recent clean bill of health he handed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari.
Obasanjo had said that Buhari was not indicted by the panel that probed his activities at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), when the latter paid him a visit alongside chieftains of the APC in Abeokuta.
In a statement signed by Sadiq Abubakar, the group said the report smacked of duplicity, adding that Obasanjo was doing a disservice to the nation and ridiculing himself by his attempt to downplay the malfeasance.
“In 2000, Obasanjo’s administration had set up the Haroun Adamu Committee to undertake the probe of the PTF, which revealed unwholesome dealings and phony expenditures in the Fund amounting to several billions of Naira.
“Over the years, Buhari has been hard put, explaining the humongous amounts of money frittered away in the PTF under his watch, the discrepancies associated with the award of its contracts and the lopsided nature of location of its projects.
“Last Tuesday, however, in an apparent effort to clear Buhari, now seeking to be President, Obasanjo concluded that Buhari did not personally benefit from the sleaze.
“The question to ask is, must he be a personal beneficiary before he is held accountable for profligate spending of public money put in his trust?
“We must never lose sight of the fact that the report in question is a public document and its content and import cannot be wished away by a mere personal opinion from whatever quarter.”
The group further stated that the clearance of Buhari, who had visited the former President’s Abeokuta home in the course of his campaign trip to Ogun state, is markedly similar to his hazy submissions about his certificates.
According to the group, “The General’s certificate controversy has raged since he submitted his nomination forms to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) without attaching his West African School Certificate as required by the law. Instead, he had referred the Electoral body to the Secretary of the military board for them.
“This had prompted the PDP, through the Director of Media and Publicity of its Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, to request INEC to reject the nomination since it is obvious Buhari is not qualified to contest the February 14 election for failing to present his school certificate to the nation’s electoral body.
“Vowing to use every legitimate means to get Buhari disqualified, the PDP said it was dismayed by the ongoing publication of presidential candidates’ names, party and qualifications in which Buhari was listed with a WASC.
“The party queried ‘from where did INEC get this information and how did it arrive at this conclusion that Buhari has WASC when he blatantly refused to submit any certificates to them as required by law?’
“INEC had again stoked controversy by publishing in newspapers last Wednesday, the list of presidential and senatorial candidates, their parties, qualifications and ages, fixing the minimum qualification of WASC for General Buhari.”
