A group called Coalition of Eastern Nigeria Political Pressure Group has accused President Buhari of bias and witch-hunting for his role on the current Dieziani alison-Madueke saga.
Dieziani Allison-Madueke
The recent arrest of former Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Dieziani Allison-Madueke in London has been described as a calculated witch-hunt and vendetta to humiliate the minister over her principled stand to indigenize the oil industry.
Coalition of Eastern Nigeria Political Pressure Groups (CENPPG) in a statement in Owerri yesterday condemned what it termed “a clear case of witch-hunt against the former minister by those who felt she did not favour them while in office”.
In the statement signed by the Chancellor of CENPPG, Nze Elvis Agukwe, the federal government was also accused of grandstanding and intimidation of persons perceived to have been the back-bone of the former administration “with a pre-determined view to demonize them”.
President Buhari is in possession of all the secrets and files of the federal government and do not have any problems getting facts and figures. What Nigerians demand is transparency in the gamut of the war against not only economic corruption but also political corruption.
Agukwe noted that since the arrest of Allison-Madueke, “hired writers and sundry groups have been procured to demonize her even when she had not been found guilty of any crime whatsoever”.
The CENPPG boss who is a former Commissioner for Information in Imo State, declared categorically that the arrest of the former Minister was politically motivated and called on the federal government to come clean on its complicity in the entire saga.
“If the government is sincere in fighting corruption, why have they continued to ignore the Halliburton fraud scandal? What they are doing with Allison-Madueke is a road show meant to entertain their whims”, he argued.
Agukwe regretted that some Nigerians are “celebrating the persecution of a woman who served her country well. It was under her tenure that the oil industry was opened up to Nigerians to benefit. That accounts for why she is being hounded by the powerful who used to benefit alone”.
He said he was surprised that Nigerian women were not coming out to defend one of their own even “when it is obvious that this is nothing but witch-hunt and injustice against Nigerian women”.
“Until she is found guilty, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke remains innocent and a respected citizen of Nigeria . That is why Nigerians should ask questions to know why this woman is being singled out for persecution and humiliation”, he said.
He disclosed that the “same cabal which stopped the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) from seeing the light of the day was responsible for the current travails of the former petroleum minister”.
Mrs Madueke served as minister in two other ministries yet we have not heard anybody accuse her of corruption in those ministries.
Agukwe also accused President Muhammadu Buhari of political corruption through his skewed appointments against the south East , noting that political corruption was worse than economic corruption.
He said while his group was not in support of corruption or any crime for that matter, it wants the federal government to be sincere, transparent and holistic in the prosecution of the corruption war.
“All we ask is fairness and justice. Until Mrs. Allison-Madueke is found guilty, the federal government should stop demonizing her . She deserves to be treated fairly as an important citizen of Nigeria who rose in the service of her country to become the first woman OPEC President . If they want to fight corruption, let them start with the Halliburton case which has proven facts and figures," he submitted.
Culled from: AfricanHeraldExpress