President Bola Tinubu has been called upon to as a matter of urgency set machinery in motion to fight corruption headlong.
The call was made by the National Publicity Secretary of the Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, during a ‘State of the Nation’ Press Conference held on Sunday in Abuja.
He stressed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu needed to urgently sign the Executive Order of Capital Punishment for corruption.
He also said that, “We urge President Tinubu to tackle corruption head-on, as failure to do so may lead to widespread unrest. The power to save our nation lies in the hands of Nigerians, and we must act now to secure a better future for all.”
According to him, “I address you today on the critical issues facing our nation as the National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party. Nigeria is confronted with pressing challenges, notably the looming specter of hunger and recent revelations like the EFCC’s disclosure about financial misappropriations and if not properly managed, it could escalate to what we don’t imagine. Hunger is on the land; we all know.
“Recent revelations, such as the EFCC’s declaring Mrs Emefiele and three others wanted for allegedly conspiring with Mr Emefiele in cornering “huge sums of money” belonging to the federal government is condemnable.
“The EFCC accused them of committing a felony, specifically obtaining money by false pretences and stealing, contrary to and punishable under Sections 411, 287 and 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.”
“Also, the accusations against Churches by the CBN private investigator, My Jim Obazeee of sponsoring ring terrorism to the tune of N30bn is not only criminal but a treasonable felony offence. Are we going to continue like this?,” he asked.
Continuing, he further said that, “The former Accountant General of the Federation who underscored the depth of the challenges we face. The former Accountant General who was accused of stealing N100bn – the matter is in court, and it is back and forth, and nothing may happen.
“We cannot continue down this path. The accusations against the wife of the former CBN governor and allegations of church involvement in sponsoring terrorism underscore the gravity of these challenges.”
The LP factional national publicity secretary added that, “Another Deputy Governor of the nation’s apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was sometime arrested last year by operatives of Department of State Services (DSS).
“Aisha Ahmad, who is in charge of Financial System Stability, was nabbed for questioning over her alleged involvement in a $300million transaction which pertained to suspected dubious acquisition of shares by some persons in Polaris Bank, Titan Bank/Union Bank. The DSS was interested, among other issues, in how the money was raised by Titan Bank to acquire Union Bank, however, she was quizzed, then released and no further detail was given on the DSS investigation into the acquisition.”
Abayomi Arabambi stressed that urgent attention is needed to avert further escalation while capital punishment for such crimes through Executive Order to be promulgated by the President could be a deterrent to its continuation and has the capacity to foster accountability.
According to him, “I believe that if there is capital punishment for these crimes through executive order, maybe Nigeria will straighten up, and people will not be stealing Nigeria’s money.”
