Daniel Onjeh Commends Tinubu’s Anti-Corruption Stance

 
Mary Nnah

 
The APC Senatorial Candidate for Benue South in the 2023 General Elections, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, has applauded President Bola Tinubu for promptly suspending the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, over corruption allegations; and further directing the Chairman of the EFCC to conduct a thorough probe of all aspects of the financial transactions involving the ministry and its affected agencies.

In a press statement issued to THISDAY, Onjeh stated that President Tinubu had demonstrated by his action that his government would not harbour any sacred cows in prosecuting the war against corruption. He further stated that the expeditious investigation and prosecution of the Betta Edu case will go a long way in shoring up public confidence in the current administration.

“It is truly very unfortunate that such humongous scandals are emanating from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, which is pivotal to providing short-term succour to the most impoverished members of the society, hence enabling the government to win public trust, and confidence, and support quickly.

Even Dr. Edu’s predecessor, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, is currently being investigated by the EFCC over the alleged laundering of N37 billion under the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari. These show that indeed, the ministry is a huge cesspool of corruption, which needs to be thoroughly sanitized,” stated Onjeh.  

Onjeh further urged President Tinubu to remain resolute in ensuring that if found guilty, Dr. Edu and her predecessor, Hajiya Farouq, along with all their accomplices, are made to face the full wrath of the law.
“Betta Edu is the youngest member of President Tinubu’s cabinet. She’s just 37 years old. I think the scandal involving her and her ministry is not just an embarrassment, but a poor testimony of the younger generation, which has long been demanding fairer representation in Nigeria’s political space. Even the immediate past EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, was another very young man who grossly mismanaged a huge opportunity to project the Nigerian youths positively on the national and global stages. He was also removed from office for corruption,” stated Onjeh.

The former Chairman of the Governing Board of PRODA, Enugu, also called on President Tinubu to direct a thorough investigation into the distribution of the palliatives released by the Federal Government to the states and National Assembly members during the last yuletide season.

“In line with the need to build public trust, I’m passionately appealing to President Tinubu to direct a comprehensive probe of the distribution of the palliatives released by the Federal Government to the various state governments, and especially the federal legislators, during the last festive season, to cushion the effects of the policy on fuel subsidy removal,” stated Onjeh.

Onjeh stated that his request was against the backdrop of a recent video that went viral online, wherein the House of Reps Member representing Etsako Federal Constituency of Edo State, Hon. Dekeri Anamero, revealed that the Federal Government released four trailers load of rice to each House of Reps member, containing a total of 2,400 bags of rice, to distribute to their constituents during the yuletide season, and the fact that in most federal constituencies across the country, the palliatives were nowhere to be found.

“It is obvious that the Federal Government had put good measures in place to mitigate the hardship imposed on poor Nigerians by the policy on fuel subsidy removal, but the handlers of these measures are sabotaging the government. If each House of Reps member got four trailers load of rice as palliatives, then it’s most likely that the senators got more. Unfortunately, no senator has come out clearly to tell us what the federal government gave to them. The federal legislators must explain in detail, how they distributed these palliatives,” stated Onjeh  
The former student activist and President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), expressed the view that some state governors may have embarked on misplaced priorities with the financial support they received from the federal government to mitigate the effects of the policy on fuel subsidy removal.

“Upon investigation, we may stumble across some of these palliatives in warehouses. I have strong cause to believe that some state governors and federal legislators may be hoarding the palliatives, with the intent to use them to sway votes in the next election. Others may have even diverted and sold theirs.

“In my Senatorial District of Benue South for instance, I wish to particularly charge the citizens to demand what is truly theirs by holding their federal legislators to account on how they distributed the palliatives they received from the federal government during the last festive season. I suspect that our federal legislators have done a lot of disservice to my people,” stated Onjeh.

He opined that if all the palliatives released by the federal government to the state governments and federal legislators had been fairly and equitably distributed to the poor and needy in the society, it would have gone a long way in mitigating the economic hardship in the country occasioned by the policy on fuel subsidy removal.

He further stated that President Tinubu had done what was best for the country by courageously implementing the fuel subsidy removal policy, which was long overdue, and further putting adequate measures in place to cushion the adverse effects of the policy.

“It is now up to us, the citizens, to ensure that the palliatives released by the government are distributed fairly and equitably in the society, so that the hardship which attended the fuel subsidy removal can be minimized, and the government can be focused. Otherwise, some disgruntled politicians will continue to latch onto the economic hardship in the country to incite the public against the government. The government needs the cooperation of every citizen, and the citizens must be patriotic enough to contribute enthusiastically to national development. But if they are being misinformed and misled about the federal government, it could stifle our national growth,” observed Onjeh.

He maintained that the war against corruption was not about targeting or shielding members of any political party; but about fostering the unity, growth and development of the country. Therefore, anybody found guilty of corruption should be dealt with by the law, to serve as a deterrent to others.