Clark carpets EFCC as commission denies probing Tinubu, Atiku

heheheA Former Federal Commissioner of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has lost focus.

He called on President Goodluck Jonathan to re-organise the anti-graft agency for effective discharge of its duty.

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Clark spoke while addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday.

The Ijaw leader said the anti-graft body had lost focus of prosecuting corrupt officials but now go after those involved in cyber and petty crimes.

Clark spoke against the background of the claim by the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) that his fight against corruption would start on May 29, 2015 if he wins the March 28 election.

Asked whether he was calling for the removal of the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, Clark said “anything can happen” during re-organisation.

Clark said, “APC is not qualified to fight corruption contrary to what Buhari had said during his campaign.

“Buhari has always anchored his campaign promises on two planks: to wipe out insecurity and corruption. With the renewed offensive against the terrorists leading to the killing and dislodgement of the Boko Haran anarchists, the first campaign plank of Buhari has been given a technical knock-out by Jonathan and the world is witnessing the reclaiming of all territories hitherto held by Boko Haram.

“This leaves him on a one-legged platform. Again on the remaining plank; corruption, Buhari himself got jittery and gave himself another technical knock-out when he said he would not probe past leaders. With this development, Buhari has conceded that he has nothing more to offer the good people of this country.

“I am puzzled to hear Buhari say that whoever has been indicted of corruption between 1999 and the time of his swearing-in would be pardoned. According to him, like a village sports man, he will draw a line, anybody who involves himself in corruption after he assumes office on May 29, 2015 will face the music, while no matter how corrupt a person has been before then, he or she would be asked to go and sin no more.

“One wonders if Buhari knows what the law says about corruption. The declaration of Buhari clearly shows that he and his co-travellers in APC are bare-face liars, hypocrites, dishonest, insincere and lack integrity simply because they want power and are bent on pursuing it to psychotic level.

“What is Buhari really afraid of? Why is he promising a blanket pardon to all corrupt office holders before the election? Is that his new selling point? Supposing it was possible for Buhari to win election which is not, can he start the fight against corruption with himself and his APC cohorts since most of them are already standing trial in court?”

The Ijaw leader added that allegations of corruption against some prominent leaders of APC were within the knowledge of the anti-graft agencies but were not being investigated.”

Meanwhile, EFCC has refuted allegation that it was being used to probe Jonathan’s political opponents.

The agency also dismissed a claim by the spokesperson for Mohammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation, Shehu Garba, that Lamorde was being accused by the commission’s workers of corruption.

The Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwajaren, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja on Friday, described as forgery a document containing the names of certain opposition figures such as APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, among others, said to have been marked for probe by the commission on the instruction of Chief of Staff to the President.

Uwajaren further dismissed claims that the commission owes its workers.

The EFCC spokesman alleged that Garba had nursed a grudge against the anti-graft agency over the years when he was working as the spokesman of Atiku. see the letter

EFCC has released a statement saying that the letter which surfaced online today suggesting that President Jonathan had ordered the agency to probe the financial operations of APC leaders, is fake. Statement from the agency below and a picture showing the difference between a real document from the agency and the fake one above..

"The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, wishes to alert the public about a letter supposedly from the office of the Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, mandating the Commission to initiate discreet investigation against some prominent political figures in the country.

The commission urges the public to discountenance the said letter as it is forged document, intended to mislead the people.

The features of the letter are markedly different from that on a genuine letter from the office of the Chief of Staff to the president.

As evidence that this is a clear forgery, we reproduce below the fake letter alongside a copy of an authentic letter from the same office.

Media & Publicity
13th March, 2015
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PM News says the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeira has ordered EFCC to secretly investigate Tinubu, Atiku, Amaechi, Gov, Oshiomole and others and they have a proof. Here's how they are reporting it.

President Goodluck Jonathan has told the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to secretly investigate the personal and official finances of leading opposition party leaders.

In a leaked letter dated February 19, Jonathan through his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Jones Oladehinde Arogbofa (rtd), told EFCC investigate 20 persons including All Progressives Congress leaders like former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu, former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state.

“I have been directed by the C in C to instruct your Agency to clandestinely investigate the personal and official finances of the following present and former government functionaries and report back by 16th of March,” Arogbofa said in the leaked letter with block letters that read: “THE PRESIDENCY: OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF”

Others on the list are: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; Governor Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto; Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano; Former Gombe state governor, Senator Danjuma Goje; Former Kwara state governor, Senator Bukola Saraki.

Farouk Ahmed, Suleiman Barau, Habib Abdullahi, Captain Muktar Usman, Umaru Ibrahim, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Attahiru B. Yusuf, Aisha Abdurrahman, Sen Aisha Alhassan, Ahmed Modibbo (former Chief Registrar FCT Judiciary) Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai, former Minister of Education make up the list.