APC and issues with ‘Mr. Integrity’ -By Deborah Nelson

Since the Slogan of APC is ‘Change’, the questions most Nigerians who are not emotionally attached to APC may ask is could be ‘change from what to what and who the people that will bring about the change are? They may equally want to know the antecedents of APC’s presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari [rtd] [GMB]. This is because if APC emerges victorious in the presidential election, he will be on the ‘Driver’s Seat’ of the nation; hence it is imperative for Nigerians to know his real antecedents, devoid of propaganda and mischief.

GMB, who is often referred to as’ Mr. Integrity’ by his supporters had contested presidential election thrice without submitting academic qualifications as required by the 1999 Constitution. For 2015 presidential election, he said that his academic qualifications were with the Military Secretary. His claim of having attended a War College in the US was confirmed by the College. The College awarded him a Diploma but not a Master’s Degree as he was reported to have claimed in his sworn affidavit. The US War College Diploma cannot replace the School Certificate required of him.

According to serving and retired military personnel interviewed, award of Diploma and Course Report to every foreign military student in the US military training institutions is a common practice. They said that both officers and soldiers who attend military courses [even those military courses that are purely practical such as Airborne course] in the US are also awarded Diploma and Course Reports irrespective of their academic qualifications.

They emphasized that what qualified GMB to attend the War College was his rank [Colonel] in the Nigerian Army and not academic qualifications. They further emphasized that even if a Private soldier who does not have a School Certificate successfully completes Airborne Course in US military training school, he/she will also be awarded a Diploma and a Course Report. In view of these facts, the Diploma awarded GMB by the US War College cannot be substituted for the School Certificate required of him by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If GMB is ‘Mr. Integrity’ as his supporters claim, he should either attach evidence of his educational qualifications to INEC Form 001 in accordance with the laws of the land or bow out honorably from the race.

In a Verified Complaint for forfeiture in case No 93 C 4484 filed on 26 July 1993 before Hon Judge J. Nordberg of US District Court for Northern District of Illinois, the US government urged the Court to order the forfeiture of money held in Bola Tinubu’s accounts at First Heritage Bank and Citibank because there were enough reasons to believe that the money represents proceeds of narcotics trafficking in violation of US laws, hence it was forfeitable to the US government. The Court in the Order given in 1993 said that the alleged drug deal, specifically in white heroine, involved BT, his wife Oluremi and three of his family members.

BT finally opted for a Stipulated Settlement with the US government. In the Settlement Order dated 15th September 1993, Hon Judge J. Nordberg ordered that the sum of $460,000 US Dollars held by BT in First Heritage Bank account be forfeited to the US government. In a letter to NDLEA in 2003, a former Narcotics Attache in US Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. A.W. Kellum confirmed that BT was involved in alleged drug trafficking in the US between 1988 and 1993. He concluded that ‘though BT was not subjected to criminal prosecution, but for the fact that he acceded to forfeit $460,000 US Dollars to the US government on account of his involvement in drug trafficking in the US was on its own a conviction’. Here again, “Mr. Integrity’ who used a retroactive Decree 20 of 1984 to slaughter Mr. Lawal Ojuolape[30], Mr. Bernard Ogedenbge[29] and Master Bartholomew Owoh[26] in the name of fighting drug trafficking is today wining and dining with this suspected drug baron, a potential ‘Nigerian Escobar’ because he wants to be president of Nigeria at any cost.

Consequently, his in-law, Alhaji Ahmad Sahilijo, who was the Chief Executive of APC assumed absolute powers to initiate all projects, assess their probable costs, approve the costs, execute the projects and assess quality of the projects. The total amount that accrued to PTF from inception to 1999 when it was disbanded was N181,795,000,000. The Interim Management Committee [IMC] set up in 2000 by Obasanjo’s government to look into the management of PTF found out that APC overcharged PTF for its services through gross inflation of contracts, purchase prices and importation of substandard/soon-to-expire drugs at inflated prices. That PTF purchased ambulances at N13 million each while actual price was N3 million each, thereby resulting in a loss of N900 million. That a total sum of N25, 758,532,448 was mismanaged by PTF.

The IMC also found out that over 70% of PTF’s completed projects were located in North West and North East where ‘Mr. Integrity’ and his in-law came from respectively. So, under GMB’s watch, N25,758,532,448 was stolen in PTF and over 70% of all PTF completed projects were located in the north. If at a younger age of 52 with absolute powers, the self-styled anti corruption crusader could not fight corruption in PTF which had less than 2000 employees and ensure equitable distribution of PTF projects across the nation, how can this same man at the ripe age of 73, fight corruption in Nigeria with over 170 million people and annual budget of over N2 trillion?

One Mrs. Vera Ifudu, an employee of NTA, was sacked from her job by GMB because she reported an interview she had with Dr Olusola Saraki. Dr Saraki had claimed during the interview that the $2.8 billion US Dollars which was reported missing from NNPC’s account at Midland Bank, London Branch when GMB was the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources [PNR] was traced by his Committee to GMB’s fixed account at the same Midland Bank, London.