The Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, should be held accountable like every other public official over the corruption allegations against him.
Atiku made this known in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Paul Ibe, on Tuesday.
In the statement, the former Vice President accused the Tinubu-led administration of persecuting opposition figures under the guise of fighting corruption while shielding its own officials from scrutiny.
“Tinubu can’t be persecuting opposition in the guise of fighting corruption and covering his own officials,” he said.
Atiku said silence, indifference and the passage of time would not erase the corruption allegations against the President’s Chief of Staff.
Reacting to a report by the Gazette newspaper alleging that Gbajabiamila illegally cornered tens of billions of naira in oil and gas royalties from the petroleum regulatory commission by citing a fake law for presidential approval.
Atiku said he was baffled by what he described as the scale of corruption and the impunity surrounding the allegations.
“This issue goes beyond partisan politics; it’s about the impunity of corruption that undermines the welfare and future of ordinary Nigerians.
“This level of corruption is unprecedented, and the government can’t pretend to be prosecuting opposition figures for corruption, while corruption is growing like weed under its own nose.”
“You can’t preach the rule of law when your own officials are awarded with the trophy of untouchability,” he said.
Atiku called for an independent investigation into the allegations, insisting that Gbajabiamila should be given the opportunity to defend himself.
“Gbajabiamila must be held accountable like every other public official and independently investigated to give him full opportunity to defend himself against the brazen act of corruption as detailed in the Gazette report,” he said.
The ADC presidential candidate recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari suspended the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, to allow investigations into corruption allegations against him.
”Former President Buhari suspended his SGF Babachir Lawal from office in order to allow for unfettered investigation against him and Gbajabiamila shouldn’t be treated differently,” he said.
According to the statement, the Chief of Staff had previously been linked to multiple bribery and corruption allegations, including the alleged theft of $25,000 from a client in Georgia, United States, alleged bribe-for-appointments, an alleged N400 million bribery scandal involving the PFIPC, and the latest allegation of illegally cornering N54 billion from an oil and gas regulatory agency.
Atiku argued that the Tinubu administration’s response to the allegations reflected a lack of commitment to fighting corruption within its ranks.
“Given the apathetic and lackadaisical attitude of the Tinubu administration to the gales of corruption scandals against the Chief of Staff, it’s apparent that the government is just going through the motions to fool Nigerians.
“Democracy is public service and when political office holders prioritise the amassing of personal wealth while the ordinary people are dying of hunger and preventable diseases, the Tinubu administration cannot pretend to be serving the people,” he said.