Tag Archives: Government Officials

Buhari Decries Blackmail Of Senior Government Officials

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President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to discerning Nigerians to ignore orchestrated attempts to sully the integrity of senior government officials, who are being tarred with the brush of corruption without any concrete evidence.

The president made the appeal in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.

Buhari, according to the statement, was reacting to online media reports, alleging that the immediate past Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Ibe Kachikwu, is being investigated over crude oil swap deals and gas lifting during his tenure as GMD of the petroleum corporation.

The statement quoted President Buhari as appealing for decent and civilised comments, “particularly when it has to do with the integrity of those who are serving the country.

“Terrible and unfounded comments about other people’s integrity are not good.

“We are not going to spare anybody who soils his hands, but people should please wait till such individuals are indicted.”

Buhari reiterated the administration’s commitment to probity, accountability and integrity, promising that transparency remained a watchword, which would never be trifled with.

Credit: Guardian

Northern Lawmaker Recommends Amputation, Hanging For Corrupt Government Officials

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Member, House of Representatives, Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency of Kaduna State, under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Yakubu Barde, has advocated for the amputation of the hands of those who have looted public funds in the country.

He said those who stole millions of naira should have their hands amputated, while those who have looted in the billions of naira should be hanged to death.

Speaking yesterday at a press conference with Kaduna State chapter of correspondents chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Barde said some members of the lower chamber who are of like mind are already looking at the possibility of putting such a law in place to make it legal.

To this end, the lawmaker called for a special court rather than the conventional court to try and sentence looters of public monies to the prescribed capital punishment.

He said “I am a believer in the fact that people should be punished for whatever offence they commit. And I am also of the belief that punishment should also be segregated according to the offence. At least your punishment should be commensurate with what you have done.

“For me, if someone steals from N1 million to N100 million, they should cut his hands. There is nothing wrong with that, so that when we see him, we will know yes, he stole. And those that steal billions upward should be hanged and their property confiscated.

“You can imagine this issue of arms deal. If you knew this money was meant for the procurement of arms, weapons, (consider) if you have a brother in the Army, he is sent to the war front and because his weapons are archaic and he is killed. Do you now want to have sympathy for someone who knows that the money was meant for arms and he pocketed it? It is so painful, we have lost loved ones.

“If I am a judge and such a person is brought before me, I will confisticate his property and make sure he is killed also. Because he bears fault in the blood of the people killed in the war front.

“We are living in a very funny country where people steal N1,000 and they are put in jail for years. And where some people will steal billions and use that same billion to escape justice. That is not good enough.

“If you look at the quantum of corruption in the country today, we are just talking about Dasukigate, and look at the quantum of money and the number of people that are involved. You have not gone to the ministries yet. You have not even gone to the states and it is only ICPC and EFCC that are to do all these jobs.

“If we are fair to ourselves, the work is overwhelming. And you know, people will want to use the legal system to delay Justice, and that is what is happening today. So, why don’t we have dedicated courts to handle all these corruption cases, so that justice could be dispensed quickly?

“I am aware of former Governors who have cases with the EFCC and they have not gone to court for the past eight years. So, this does not encourage the young people. It rather encourages them to steal.

“So, I think we need to put our heads together because corruption, like hunger, does not know party, it does not know tribe of religion. We must as Nigerians take a very bold stand.”

Credit: Sun

Buhari to recover govt houses from Jonathan’s men

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President Muhammadu Buhari has concluded plans to recover all government property still in possession of government officials who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Federal Government’s assets including vehicles, buildings, generator sets and others were said to still be in the possession of the former government officials weeks after they had left office.

Irked by the development, Buhari was said to have set up a committee made up of civil servants and security agencies to identify and recover the unreturned public assets from the former political appointees.

The development is in continuation of ongoing efforts of the President to reclaim Nigeria’s stolen resources.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed the development to journalists on Sunday.

He said, “That is precisely the case. Even here at the Presidential Villa, there are cars and other property belonging to the government,which are yet to be returned.

“The property belong to the Nigerian people. We are not trying to humiliate anyone by asking them to return their cars or houses.”

The presidential spokesman however did not disclose the identities of former government officials said to be still in possession of government property.

But he expressed the conviction that the committee set up by the President would recover all the government assets.

When asked whether the state and local governments were facing similar challenges with retrieving government property from their predecessors, Shehu said that he was not in a position to confirm or deny this.

He added, however, that he would not be surprised if that was the case, as this attitude of holding on to government property even after leaving office must be a natural outcome of the culture of impunity that prevailed in Nigeria over the past years of the Peoples Democratic Party’s regime.

“But change has come. That is why we have to do things differently now. Imagine how much Nigeria will save by retrieving and re-using these government property instead of purchasing new ones for new government officials,” he said.

Source : Punch

Abia Government Officials Escape Mob Attack

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The Abia State Ministry of Environment narrowly escaped a mob attack by a group of youths while they attended the state sanitation exercise.

According to reports, headstrong youths were playing football when the environmental team arrived. The same field which was supposedly to be used by the governmental officials.

The youth threw stones and sticks furiously at the team which also consisted of some journalists. The officials ran to their vehicles for cover as they could the situation was starting to get serious. The reasons behind this act is still not known and it is still investigated as to why the youths attacked the officials.

Read More: DailyIndependent