Nigeria’s Corruption War: Hypocrisy Unlimited

Amaechi

By the time you read this the former governor of Rivers State and director general of Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is about to be cleared or may have been cleared as the minister of the federal republic of Nigeria despite weighty allegations of corruption levelled against him by the Rivers State government and his indictment by a judicial commission of inquiry set up by the same government. To be frank I have no qualms with his clearance, because if it was an APC government that is in control of Rivers State perhaps no one would be protesting his nomination. But I am appalled by the hypocrisy of the ruling APC in who is to be adjudged to be corrupt or not.

It is instructive that the APC has risen in defence of Amaechi, saying that anybody with allegations against Amaechi should go to court and that Amaechi is innocent until he is convicted by a court of law. But this is the same APC that have been demonising former minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and several others that served the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan saying that they are corrupt even before they were convicted by court of law. I have no doubt that the past administration presided over one of the most corrupt government in Nigeria’s history and I cannot defend the heist it allegedly perpetrated against the Nigerian people, but I detest the double standard being exhibited by the ruling party when one of their own is accused of corruption.

Take the case of the former governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN, who was accused of corruption in the administration of the state between 2007 and 2015 by a coalition of civil society organisations, instead of this being taken serious by a government that has severally expressed commitment to the war against corruption, but the ruling party has dismissed the allegation saying the accusers should go to court. This is another example of double standard and very hypocritical.

Similarly the former governor of Benue State, Mr Gabriel Suswam was yesterday arrested by the EFCC over allegation of corruption but no such arrest was extended to Amaechi even though like Amaechi did in Rivers, Suswam had shunned the judicial commission of inquiry set up by the Benue State government and had gone to court like Amaechi to stop being summoned to appear before the panel. The question begging for answer is; why is EFCC after Suswam while Amaechi was left off the hook even when their cases are similar?

This double standard is pointed out so that the president, Muhammadu Buhari whose election was anchored on transparency and integrity must not be seen to run a government that is not different from the ones before his.