Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to dissolve the EFCC and ICPC because, according to him, the president has “completely embarrassed” anti-corruption agencies by clemency for corrupt convicts.
This was contained in a statement posted on Facebook by the governor’s spokesman, Kelvin Ebiri, on Monday.
The State Council at its meeting chaired by Mr. Buhari on Thursday granted state pardons to the former governors of Taraba and Plateau states, Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye, and 157 others serving prison sentences.
Messrs. Nyame and Dariye were jailed for corruption.
Wike, a PDP presidential hopeful, said the presidential pardon had not only defeated the goals of the war on corruption, but also wasted the efforts of the judiciary.
He alleged that the presidency granted the pardon so that the released prisoners would help the president and his party, APC, in the 2023 elections.
“If President Muhammadu Buhari knows he doesn’t want to fight corruption, then he should dissolve the EFCC and the ICPC because he has completely embarrassed them,” Wike said Monday at a meeting with delegates from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano. Express.
“This is the same government that complained against the judiciary that it is not fighting corruption. Now, look what the judges have been through; sleepless nights from the FCT High Court to the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court, it all goes to waste.
“So all these things that he (Buhari) is doing are because of the upcoming elections. They want this person in Plateau state to help them and they want this person in Taraba state to help them. But it won’t work because Wike will face them in that election,” Wike said.
During his visit to Niger state on Saturday as part of his consultation tour, Governor Rivers told PPD delegates that the APC-led federal government’s anti-corruption war had ridiculed the country in the international community.
“To tell the truth, this APC government has misled us a lot. This is the government that said it is fighting corruption; they chose people and imprisoned them after having gone through all the judicial processes up to the Supreme Court.
“Then they turned around to get those people they said were corrupt out of prison. What government is this, what country is this?
Presidency responds Wike
In response, the presidency described Wike’s criticism as unjustifiable, adding that the governor refused to honor the Council of State meeting where the decision was made after being duly invited.
Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Buhari, said Rivers State Deputy Governor Ipalibo Banigo, who represented Wike at the meeting, virtually turned off the camera, making it difficult to determine whether he actually attended the meeting.
“I do not see the moral justification for Governor Wike’s criticism of the government’s decision to pardon Governors Dariye and Nyame at a meeting to which he was duly invited but did not attend.
“Rivers State Lieutenant Governor Dr. Ipalibo Banigo, who joined the State Council meeting, pretty much turned off her camera, so it was hard to tell if she sat behind the dark screen or just walked away afterward. join for the first time.
Shehu revealed this in a statement he posted on Facebook.
Why did my attachment shut down?
Wike, while addressing PDP delegates in Kano state on Monday, dismissed Shehu’s defense, saying he refused to attend the meeting because, according to him, the presidency was planning to ambush him and others by not send them the meeting agenda in advance.
“So when your press man (Garba Shehu) said that he was invited to the State Council, is it because I am not there, that is why they did what they did?
“If you wanted me to contribute, you would have sent me the agenda. Then, I would have known what he was coming to do at the meeting.
“It’s not when you don’t send me an agenda, I come, then you box us in, ambush us, then you say I attended the meeting where they approved it. I will not attend such a meeting.”
He explained that his deputy changed his camera because he knew it was going to be a “wayo”, adding that the APC government is known for wayo.
“When they said that my deputy attended and when they looked back they could not see my deputy again. Why would you see it?
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“When he saw what was there, he had to turn off because he knew it was a wayo. That is what this APC government is known for,” said Wike.