– Governor Nyesom Wike has called for the head of public office holders whose hands have been soiled with corruption
– Wike says the ongoing anti-corruption war spearheaded by President Buhari, has no regard for the rule of law
– The Rivers state governor says everyone who flouts the law must be held responsible including those in Buhari’s cabinet
Governor, Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, on Thursday, November 11, called for the suspension, resignation or termination of appointments of public office holders who have scores to settle with the law.
Governor Wike says public office holders whose names have been smeared in corruption cases must step aside, till their innocence is proven.
Wike said those officers whose innocence are still doubt must step aside till they have been proven worthy of the offices they occupy.
Daily Post reports that the governor made the assertion, as he accused the Federal Government of being bias in its ongoing anti-graft war.
Speaking at the 2016 annual conference of the chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigerian Branch, in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Wike wondered why the government forced some public officers accused of corruption to step aside pending the conclusion of their cases while others similarly accused of corruption were allowed to continue with their jobs.
Wike also alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft war has no regard for the rule of law.
He said: “We think the Federal Government must hold every public officer and everyone of us to the same standards of accountability.
“It smacks of double standard for the Federal Government to force some public officers accused of corruption to step aside pending the conclusion of their cases, while keeping other public officers similarly accused in their public posts simply because they happen to be top members of the ruling party.
Such inequities strike at the very essence of our moral values and rubbish the demand for character and personal integrity in public service.
“By resigning from his public position on account of the allegations of bribery against him, Muiz Banire (SAN), a former legal adviser of the All Progressives Congress, has proven to be a man who loves his character more than anything else.
“Let all those public officers with the smear of corruption step aside honourably and concentrate on clearing their names. We totally support our President’s fight against corruption.
However, we are on our way to anarchy if we encourage or allow law enforcement agencies the latitude to abuse the fundamental rights of our citizens under the guise of fighting corruption.”
This is coming at a time when a cross section of Nigerians are calling for the sack of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and his counterpart from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu over bribery allegation levelled against them by two Supreme Court justices, Sylvester Ngwuta as well as John Inyang Okoro.
Meanwhile, Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, has accused the Police High Command of plotting to sweep the alleged printing of fake result sheets by the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the carpet with the takeover of the matter by the Police Zone 6, Calabar.
Giving an update at the Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday on the alleged printing of fake election result sheets by Rivers APC and INEC, Wike said the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 6 has asked the Rivers State Police Command to transfer the case and suspects to Calabar.
He said: “The interest of the police is to ensure that all those indicted in this plot to rig the rerun elections are not prosecuted. “INEC must realise that this has to do with its credibility .
It is not enough to simply deny. They must take steps to ensure that they clear themselves.
“The question of how the printers got the serial numbers and the code numbers of the units used for the results sheets and sensitive materials must be answered by INEC.
“During the rerun tribunal sitting, the Rivers APC tendered results that were different from those declared by INEC after the March 19 elections.
But the Court of Appeal and the tribunal were not deceived by the antics of the Rivers APC and INEC. These were the same people who said no election took place, but they had separate result sheets which they tendered in court.”
No comments:
Post a Comment