The Presidency has rejected former President Goodluck Jonathan’s claim that there is more corruption in the country now than when he was in office.

A statement released yesterday by the senior special assistant on media and publicity to the president, Mallam Garba Shehu, described Jonathan’s assertion as absolutely untrue, adding that facts on the ground run contrary to his unfounded claim.

LEADERSHIP Friday recalls that former President Jonathan had launched his book, “My Transition Hours” in Abuja on Tuesday, a day that marked his 61st birth anniversary.

It is in the book that he claimed that there is greater corruption in the present regime despite priding itself as a corruption fighter.

But the statement signed by Shehu, the presidency countered Jonathan, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari, in pursuit of the war against corruption, has set a number of local and international records, one of which is to call judicial officers in Nigeria to account, the first to set such a record.

He noted also that this is the first time that top military commanders and service chiefs are brought to trial, and convictions achieved in court on account of corruption.

The presidential spokesman further pointed out that this is the first time a ruling party is convicting high profile citizens, including former governors belonging to the party.

Part of the statement reads: “This is the first time the international community is acknowledging the efforts of a government of Nigeria in this regard as manifested by the selection of President Buhari by the African Union as the Anti-Corruption Champion of the continent.

“For the records, this is the first time a ruling party is investigating ranking officers of the administration, including some at the very top.

“In addition to the many firsts recorded by President Buhari’s administration, the government has introduced a lot of changes, considering that the laws relating to the fight against corruption cannot reasonably be static.”

Shehu added that in line with its aspiration to be ahead of the growing sophistication of corruption and financial crimes, the Buhari administration has initiated new legislations and proposed amendments to different sections of laws.

He listed such bills to include: The Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Bill 2017; Anti-Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Bill 2017; Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill 2017 (NFIU);Proceeds of Crime Bill 2017 Public Interest Disclosure and Witness Protection Bill, 2017 and The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2017.

Shehu noted that with the support of relevant stakeholders, the NFIU Act has been passed and President Buhari gave his assent on July 18, 2018.

He further explained that the administration is currently working with the legislature for an expedited passage of the Proceeds of Crimes Bill to make the anti-corruption war more effective.

The presidential spokesman, therefore, urged Nigerians to dismiss Jonathan’s hollow boast that he, not President Buhari, introduced schemes such as the Biometric Verification Number (BVN), Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

According to him, of what use is the announcement of good policies without the will to implement them.

Explaining further, he said since President Buhari assumed office, Nigerians are witnesses to the huge success recorded through the implementation of the TSA where some government agencies that had over the years remitted peanut amounts or nothing at all are now periodically pumping billions into government coffers.

Prominent among these remittances, he said, are the ones made by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customers Service (NCS) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

While conceding that the BVN policy was introduced in 2014 under the Jonathan administration to ensure that all bank accounts have biometric identification of their owners, Shehu however pointed out that the former president lacked the will and capacity to enforce the implementation.

Noting that certain individuals are afraid of enrolling on the BVN platform as this will expose them and their corrupt actions, Shehu gave the assurance that the law would soon catch up on them.

Speaking further on anti-corruption initiatives of the Buhari administration, the presidential spokesman recalled that the introduction of the whistle-blower policy as a veritable tool against corruption as it gives individuals the incentive to expose corruption, fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct, government assets and any other form of corrupt practice or theft.

According to him, within six months of introducing this policy, over 5,000 reports were made through various channels, out of which 365 were actionable tips, with more than N200bn recovered so far.

He continued: “As the minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said on Thursday, the former president does not have the facts to claim that there was any serious effort on the part of his administration to fight corruption.

“As at 29th May, 2015, when this administration came into office, the EFCC recovery account had only N19.5 billion as revealed by the minister of justice and attorney-general. After one year of the new anti-corruption drive by the Buhari administration, this figure went up to N279 billion, and since then a lot more has been recovered.

“Finally, as evidenced from a fleeting look at the book, the former President had nothing to say about his own achievements. If there was a recession, and yes we had a moment in it, was it due to one year of President Buhari’s government?

“In his efforts to blame everyone but himself for his failures, Dr Jonathan heaped the blame for the predictable economic recession on President Buhari, ignoring the seeds sown under him through mismanagement and the process set in firm roots for the decline of the economy. Evidently, he did nothing to avert the situation.”

Shehu reiterated that the recession in 2016 was caused by years of mismanagement and corruption in the 16 years of PDP rule.

“The country solely relied on oil, the price of which was as high as $140 per barrel under their watch. Government simply reticulated oil revenue through personal spending by corrupt leaders, wasteful expenses and salaries rather than investing in what would grow the economy. There was no investment in infrastructure as President Buhari is now doing in seaports, airports, power plants, railways, roads and housing.

“The oil windfall for the country was mismanaged, and Nigeria’s greatest opportunity for growth was turned into a tragedy. More worrisome, there were no savings. And to compound the problem and compromise growth of the economy, the previous government borrowed heavily, owed contractors and international oil companies. When President Buhari came into power in 2015, the country had accumulated debt, which took it back to the level it was before the Paris Club Debt forgiveness. Nigeria did not have fiscal buffers to withstand an oil shock when oil prices fell to as low as $28.

“The former president and his party have nothing to say about achievements,” he added.

http://www.mcebiscoo.com/2018/11/presidency-knocks-jonathan-over.html

After Jonathan.....
The exercise must be continued...

O****Jo..........5.5B

O*****le.........$55m

G****je......... unspecified $m


Abeg I no mention anybody's name o.

g

recession was caused by mismanagement according to them but same recession occurred in 1984 when Buhari was the head of state, so, who caused that? let Buhari come back in 3050 as the president of Nigeria he will cause another recession. The man is just power drunk who has nothing upstairs.

When u complain about APC, some call u wailer, really there was corruption during the PDP era, but what we have in this APC govt is terrifying, not just corruption alone but the way they play politics with virtually every arm of the govt, the judiciary is now a child's play as anything goes, de executive has become a tool for political fights, legislatures has become political opposition to the ruling party, APC is a home for repented criminals, Oshomole and Gandollar representing well, Kachukwu raised alarm of how contracts are awarded recklessly, Mr President spoke to him and the whole thing died down naturally... One day we all will realize how much damage Buhari and his Cabals has done to our dear country...

sykeng:
recession was caused by mismanagement according to them but same recession occurred in 1984 when Buhari was the head of state, so, who caused that? let Buhari come back in 3050 as the president of Nigeria he will cause another recession. The man is just power drunk who has nothing upstairs.

Gbam! You nailed it bro.

Hmmm
Politicians cab not be trusted.They lie a lot

Transparency international thinks otherwise

ok

The type and level of corruption being witnessed under the APC and this dullards lifeless government is overwhelming. Even the gods will marvel and weep over the stupendous lootings going on.

Jonathan should not be taken seriously, please. I wonder how he managed to get PHD

Playing opposition as usual
FG keeps scoring points with BVN and TSA, blatantly claiming it was implemented by them despite being initiated by GEJ's administration.
I wonder why they don't score points with the inherited corruption stealing cases of Amaechi, Turaki, Orji Uzor Kalu, Sylva, Nyako, Goje, Adamu, Fayemi, Dariye and Lawal, whose cash stolen alone amounted to over N230billion.
This government didn't exactly turn a blind eye though. It is a case of sinners becoming saints once they aligned with the FG. In the case of Sylva, it didn't take a week from May 29th 2015 before he was handed the seized properties with best wishes from Buhari-led administration.
Since 2015, Nigeria kept back-sliding down Transparency International corrupt list like Michael Jackson on stage and the best our FG could do is wait until the end of 2018 to tackle the corruption allegation from an ex-president.
I wonder why they couldn't land an apology from Transparency International on the same vein

l believe APC should be showcasing to Nigerians what they have done in the last 3 years+. OK, you recovered billions of Naira and also borrowed billions of dollars,please what have you done with all these monies. You increased everything fuel, bills and taxes still no protest. Lagos-Ibadan expressway not completed, Enugu- PH not completed, 2nd Niger,Power and East-West road are at the same point Jonathan left it. I can't understand. Even on corruption, the fact is there, Jonathan quoted Transparency International. What was Nigeria's position when he left government and what's Nigeria's position now on the corruption index? Well, l thank God for everything that happened, assuming Buhari did not govern Nigeria, everyone would have been saying he would have been Nigeria best president.

Wada3:
Jonathan should not be taken seriously, please. I wonder how he managed to get PHD

I think the first step he took was managing to pass Maths and English amongst other subjects in his SSCE and ensuring his certificate remained intact for onward education

''Stealing is not corruption'' ...that sounds like, ''Drinking alcohol can't make you drunk''. That's Otuoke 'logic' for you, ladies and gentlemen.

Wada3:
Jonathan should not be taken seriously, please. I wonder how he managed to get PHD

you wan shake table ba ...

Wada3:
Jonathan should not be taken seriously, please. I wonder how he managed to get PHD

You see your life?

..but u can take man who never attended school nor have common First Sch Cert serious. Sometimes I wonder if you ppl are jazzed because some people stvpidity is more than just tribalism and religious sentiment.

Shey be u wan trowey oil ba?

Buhari is a lucky, pretentious thief who is lucky in stealing pretentiously and still have massive supporters due to religious blindness of Nigerians!


People supporting Buhari aren't supporting him because he is a good leader leading Nigeria well, but because they believe he is born again Muslim who is ready to cut off the head of any Christian Kafir to ensure Islam stands at all cost!

That is the major reason they are supporting him, nothing else!

Na true now. Gej talk true.

victorazyvictor:


You see your life?

..but u can take man who never attended school nor have common First Sch Cert serious. Sometimes I wonder if you ppl are jazzed because some people stvpidity in more than just tribalism and religious sentiment.

Shey be u wan trowey oil ba?

Abeg, no mind those idiats

Wada3:
Jonathan should not be taken seriously, please. I wonder how he managed to get PHD

U, what is d level of your education and how did u manage to pass? Because u reason like some one who is empty.

ObaKlaz:
''Stealing is not corruption'' ...that sounds like, ''Drinking alcohol can't make you drunk''. That's Otuoke 'logic' for you, ladies and gentlemen.

If you can not understand the context of that quote, it then means you are an illiterate or simply an ignorant buffoon...

First thing First! We need to know who we are dealing with!

We need to know who we entrusted our country into his hands!

We really need to know what he is doing with our security! Who have we entrusted Nigeria to

We really need to know if we are talking to Buhari or Jubril from Sudan!

So before telling him the naked truth We need to be sure of who exactly we are talking to!

Past Presidents of Nigeria, I think a DNA is in order!


Modified:

Tetehjewels:
I love President buhari. The only one whose hands have not been politically soiled

Wake up! I think you are day dreaming!

All these bla bla bla from APC is becoming insulting and increasingly irritating . Jonathan is not contesting for political office. This is campaigns era APC government should tell us with facts and figures why we will re-elect them. Jonathan have written a book for himself and others and can't delete anything. That is a book not Mallam Garba Shehu statement.

What did you do with the money recovered from the ex- governors and other high profile personalities?
Efcc office got fire last week, old fashioned. After embezzlement fire sets in
We are tired of propaganda and stories. We need convincing evidences.

ObaKlaz:
''Stealing is not corruption'' ...that sounds like, ''Drinking alcohol can't make you drunk''. That's Otuoke 'logic' for you, ladies and gentlemen.

Check your dictionary for the word "corruption"

Corruption is different from stealing.

Stealing is collecting something that belongs to another person without permission.

Corruption is doing things without the recognition of rule of law.
eg. Bribe, malpractice, disobeying court order (like buhari) presenting fake documents etc

a capital offence, felony on its own.

Goodluck Jonathan: I Never Said Stealing Is Not Corruption....

I never said stealing is not corruption, a person can steal and not be corrupt - GEJ

“Corruption does not fully capture the act of stealing. A person can indeed be corrupt without stealing a dime. Those who are incapable of comprehending this elevated thought and the mischievous crowd go about claiming till date that I said stealing is not corruption.”

“Let me categorically state that I never said stealing is good and that people should steal, neither did the CJN. Stealing is stealing and instead of calling it corruption, let us call the thief by his proper name and not use a blanket word like corruption. Corruption encompasses many things.

“If a government minister upon a cabinet dissolution takes a vehicle that he is not entitled to and converts it to personal use, then that is stealing. We must not lump everything together to say stealing is corruption"

Excerpts from page 45 of his book