Former President Muhamma Buhari has pledged his support for President Bola Tinubu’s fight against corruption, and isn’t ready to defend any corrupt official found wanting in his administration.
Noting that his hands are clean, Buhari was quoted by Vanguard as giving Tinubu the go-ahead to do whatever he needs to do to recover all the funds allegedly stolen during his administration.
Buhari’s statement was highlighted in an investigation report published by Vanguard on Saturday.
The former president said even his friends should not be spared, and that everyone should be investigated.
The investigation report by Vanguard disclosed that President Bola Tinubu is on the verge of recovering over $14 billion of looted funds traced to a few individuals in Buhari’s administration.
A source in the presidential villa cited by the publication made reference to an investigation by Jim Obaze, the Special Investigator appointed by President Tinubu, and confirmed that billions of dollars have been traced to certain individuals, with just two people possessing over $14bn of looted public funds.
It could be argued that the major highlight of the investigation report is the questions asked by the sources privy to what is going on according to the publication.
One of the sources said: “some of the figures you get to hear are troubling. What does anybody want to do with $6 billion? What does anybody want to do with $8 billion? These figures are something else”.
Another source asked: “Is it that some of these people were the ones to whom funds for the purchase of our crude oil were paid? Did they pay these people directly for crude oil sales or what?”
Recall that Buhari campaigned in 2014 on a promise to fight corruption headlong and bring it to its knees.
He claimed that he had a reputation as a no-nonsense leader with a hard stance against corruption during his military rule in the early 1980s.
He also vowed to tackle corruption in Nigeria’s public sector, which was plagued by endemic graft and mismanagement.
However, since he assumed office in 2015, Buhari’s anti-corruption war has been marred by controversy and inconsistency.
The case of the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Idris Ahmed, who allegedly stole N109 billion, out of which he has returned N30 billion, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, is still under discussion.
