Anti-Corruption: Obasanjo will be next to be probed – Useni

– Lt-General Jeremiah Useni said that the ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo introduced corruption into the Assembly during his failed third-term bid

– He criticised Obasanjo’s recent letter to the National Assembly, saying that Obasanjo should stop blaming the National Assembly for a problem he caused

– Useni suggested that President Buhari will probe Obasanjo’s administration next

A former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lt-Gen Jeremiah Useni, has said that the present anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari will be extended to the administration of the ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Buhari will soon probe Obasanjo
Useni, who was also a former military governor of the old Bendel state, added that once Buhari is through with the investigation of his predecessor, the searchlight will be beamed on Obasanjo, who he said introduced corruption into the National Assembly.
The former minister said this in an interview with Vanguard in response to Obasanjo’s letter to the National Assembly in which he accused lawmakers of corruption.

Obasanjo in his now famous letter to the Assembly dated January 13, 2016, said that the pool of cars available to lawmakers was sufficient and there was no need for additional cars.
The federal lawmakers had planned to buy over 468 additional cars valued at N47.5 billion, a plan which President Buhari condemned during his maiden Presidential Media Chat.
He wrote: “ While in government, I was threatened with impeachment by the members of the National Assembly for not releasing some money they had appropriated for themselves which were odious and for which there were no incomes to support. The recent issue of cars for legislators would fall into the same category. Whatever name it is disguised as, it is unnecessary and insensitive. A pool of a few cars for each Chamber will suffice for any Committee Chairman or members for any specific duty. The waste that has gone into cars, furniture, housing renovation in the past was mind-boggling and these were veritable sources of waste and corruption. That was why they were abolished. Bringing them back is inimical to the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.”

Useni said that Obasanjo had introduced corruption into the National Assembly in the heat of his failed third-term bid, and that he should not blame the same institution for the problem that he started.
He said: “ He brought corruption to the National Assembly with the way he was giving out money to senators especially when he wanted to go for third term. He spent a lot of money he can’t account for. What Buhari is doing now, is like what Awolowo said when he was Minister of Finance under General Gowon and the government then put up a probe and wanted to go backward to past government.
“But Awolowo said no; new logs go on top of old ones, to get to the old ones; you must remove the new ones first. That is what Buhari is doing now, trying to clear the new logs so that he can get access to the old ones; when he clears the new ones and gets access to the old ones, the case of Obasanjo will come up. So he has no excuse at all to say such a thing because if there is any corruption at all in the National Assembly, he was the cause.”
Meanwhile, Obasanjo had expressed his frustration over his inability to see the president as Buhari had not invited him to discuss vital national issues.
Obasanjo said this while speaking from Uganda on the Hausa Service of the BBC monitored in Jos. He defined Buhari as a man of his word, stating that prior to the 2015 general poll Buhari vowed to fight corruption and was now being seen to fight it.