22nd February, 2017
Akiolu, though did not mention the name of Obasanjo’s ally he was referring to, pointer in his statement was referring to for Vice President, Atiku Abubakar who served in Obasajo’s government.
The monarch had few weeks ago also come hard on Atiku and Lawan Daura, saying they were the one who sold a dummy to Obasanjo which led to his forceful retirement from the police force in 2002 since they believed that Obasanjo would not be able to capture Lagos in 2003 if he was still in the police force.However,
However, the garrulous monarch who spoke on Wednesday at the launch of Nigerian Women Against Corruption initiative in the Southwest held at the Haven Event Centre in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, a project of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in partnership with the office of the Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, said he was ready to fight corrupt people from becoming president in Nigeria again.
Akiolu vowed to work against any corrupt individual from leading the country, saying never again would a corrupt man become Nigeria’s President.
“I insist that there is no era for somebody who spent the first three years of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government making money and turning many companies to his own to come back to be the President of this country again. I mean it and I mean it and by God’s grace, it shall be so,” he said.
While alluding to investigative prowess of the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, Akiolu advocated support for the present leadership of the Commission, saying it was absolutely necessary for all to support the fight against graft.
He also urged parents to inculcate godly virtues in their children, and teach them to shun any corrupt practices.
Speaking, Acting EFCC Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu linked the socio-economic problems plaguing the country to long years of the unbroken chain of corruption, but stressed that it was now time for action, saying: “We cannot continue to sit and watch our country drift into intolerable poverty.”
Magu also commended Mrs Bolanle Ambode for the immense support she had so far given to the EFCC, saying it was gratifying to note that the Wife of the Governor viewed herself as a stakeholder in the anti-graft war.
Earlier, Mrs Ambode emphasized the need for early inculcation of right virtues in children from the home front especially by discouraging any act, behaviour and attitude that abets corruption.
She said it was time for Nigerian women to take a stand against corruption by ensuring that their children are given the right upbringing based on time-honoured values of honesty, integrity, trust, fear of God and dignity of labour.
The initiative is a project of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in collaboration with the office of Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari.
Mrs Ambode identified corruption as one of the major factors responsible for the current state of the Nigerian economy, but maintained that women are strategically positioned by their role as moulders of characters and behaviours to lead the way in the anti-graft war.
She said: “The fight against corruption must be seen as a priority in which everyone must be involved if we desire to sustainably address the issue of poverty and also make the economy work for everyone.
“I will therefore use this opportunity to lend my voice to all our mothers and sisters in Lagos State and the Southwest region to take a stand against corruption. Let us start the fight from our homes by discouraging any act, behaviour and attitude that aids and abets corruption. If we succeed as individuals in our various homes, there will be no room for corruption and corrupt practices in the larger society.”
Besides, Mrs Ambode commended EFCC for the initiative aimed at engaging women, who she said account for half of Nigeria’s population, in the fight against corruption, and expressed optimism that the campaign would go a long way in helping to achieve the desired effect on the polity.
-Kazeem Ugbodaga