– President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of fighting opposition instead of fighting corruption
– The allegation was levelled against him by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming general elections, Atiku Abubakar
– Atiku says Buhari did not condemn the corruption allegations levelled against Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano state
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming 2019 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of fighting opposition instead of fighting corruption.
Punch reports that the former vice president made the allegation in a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, on Thursday, January 17.
Tracknews.ng gathers that Atiku expressed displeasure that President Buhari has not condemned the action of the Kano state governor, Umar Ganduje, for allegedly taking a bribe from a contractor.
Speaking at a town hall meeting on Wednesday, January 16, Buhari had said: “The state assembly is investigating and they have the mandate to deal with it and they have also gone to court, so I decided not to talk about it.”
Reacting to the Ganduje viral video in which the governor was seen receiving the money, Buhari said: “Does Ganduje have to take the money himself? The system has given me some relief, it is in the court and the Assembly.”
Atiku said: “This partiality of the President is most disturbing, as it is proved positive that he is fighting the opposition and not corruption. Perhaps this is why Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index has established that Nigeria is more corrupt today, under President Buhari, than before he was sworn in on May 29, 2015 (and not May 19, 2015, as he claimed in Kogi).
“Quite strangely, President Buhari, however, did not allow Ganduje’s pending court case stop him from praising his crony, the Kano governor when he went to Paris in November of last year.
“Even further damaging was the President’s defence of another of his cronies, Babachir Lawal, whom he said could not be charged because of a lack of evidence. We are embarrassed by the President that he could make such a public faux pas.”
Tracknews.ng previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed insinuations that the anti-corruption fight of his government was one-sided, stressing that the allegations were not backed with facts.
Buhari said this at a town hall meeting tagged ‘The Candidates’ organised by the MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with NTA and DARIA media in Abuja on Wednesday, January 16.
President Buhari said: “There is nobody who has been accused of corruption with evidence and we have looked the other way.”
The president said he was being careful as people could not be easily arrested in a democratic government and taken to court without strong evidence.
He, however, called on Nigerians to support the government and expose individuals, groups and companies involved in corrupt practices.
