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Ahead of 2019 general elections, leading critic of President Muhammadu Buhari style of governance and corruption war who doubles as a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Reno Omokri, has released facts that cast doubts on current fight against corruption and general governance in Nigeria.

In an interview, the activist argued that “In terms of corruption, Transparency International (TI), the only global body recognised as an arbiter on corruption, has said that the Buhari administration is more corrupt than the Jonathan government”.

According to him, “Whereas under Jonathan, Nigeria made its best ever improvement on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, moving eight places forward from 144 to 136 in 2014, today, Nigeria has made its worst ever retrogression under President Buhari, moving backwards 12 places from 136 to 148. This is a fact”.

“Let me give you another fact, you will agree with me that the biggest thief in Nigeria’s civil service history is Abdulrasheed Maina, the former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.

“He was dismissed by former President Jonathan and declared wanted. All of a sudden, he turned up in Nigeria with a double promotion. The Buhari government should tell Nigerians who recalled, reinstated and double-promoted Abdulrasheed Maina.

“Nigerians may further recall that according to Dr. Junaid Mohammed, Maina was said to have been given armed guards. Nigerians may further want to note that the Attorney General of the Federation went to court to halt a Senate probe meant to unravel the Maina mystery. On this issue, it is pertinent to state that the Head of Service, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, revealed that she warned President Buhari about the Maina affair before he was reinstated.

Omokri averred that “While the Buhari regime is also explaining that, they should find time to explain to Nigerians why the $25bn contract scam at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has not been investigated till today. They should also explain why subsidy payments, which President Buhari termed ‘a fraud’ during the campaign, have jumped to 1.4tn per annum, yet the price of petrol has nearly doubled to 145 from 87? If petrol prices go up, then subsidy should go down. If subsidy goes up, then petrol prices should go down. It is mathematically impossible for subsidy to go up at the same rate and time price goes up. These are facts.

While querying between facts and allegations, which are more credible, former President Jonathan’s aide argued that “No amount of allegations is justifiable without facts. Thank God it was an All Progressives Congress senator that got up on live television and revealed that this administration has borrowed more money in three years than the Peoples Democratic Party borrowed in 16 years, yet what has been the impact?

“Till today, no one in the Buhari administration can point to even one project that the President Buhari-led government has initiated, started and completed in three years except the Daura helipad which was built for the President’s own use. Great leaders think of the people they lead. It is weak leaders, like Buhari, who think only of themselves.

Continuing, he recalled that “In the first year of Jonathan, he had initiated, started and completed over 1,000 projects, including three universities and the revival of the Lagos to Kano railway. In his second year, he had completed 2,689 projects, including five more universities. By his fourth year, he had started and completed over 10,000 projects, including three new power projects, 10 power sub-stations, 189 health care centres and four more universities (bringing the total to 12 and 165 Almajiri schools).

“These are specifics. Now I ask you to name one project initiated, started and completed by the Buhari administration in three years? And Buhari had the guts to insult former President Obasanjo. Really?

“President Buhari is an ungrateful beneficiary of President Obasanjo’s good governance. He is an ingrate for saying he is paying Obasanjo’s debt. Obasanjo did not spend $16bn on power. Obasanjo actually paid all our foreign debts and left a total reserve of $67bn. It is Buhari who has borrowed more in three years than the PDP borrowed in 16 years.

While recalling that “Last year, on former President Obasanjo’s birthday, President Buhari called him a statesman ‘with commitment to good governance,’ today, he is hinting at probing Obasanjo’s alleged $16bn power project contracts just because Obasanjo is against his re-election. Is that the action of a man with credibility and integrity?”