Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of giving presidential protection to treasury looters in his administration.
Fayose alleged that Presidential Villa in Abuja has been turned to a facility where President’s men hide their own loot.
The Ekiti governor neither provided details nor gave any proof to substantiate his allegation.
He accused the President and his administration of fooling Nigerians with what he called “staged-managed recovery” of looted cash in some locations in the country in a bid to convince them that the anti-corruption war is on course.
Fayose, in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Assistant on public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, alleged that the hefty cash in local and foreign currencies recovered in some parts of the country belong to top officials of the Buhari administration who have become untouchable because of the backing they enjoy from their principal.
He called on the international community to hold the Nigerian government under Buhari’s watch accountable on the recovered N13 billion cash found at a flat in Ikoyi, Lagos, stressing that the issue “must not be swept under the carpet.”
Fayose was reacting to a statement credited to the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, who said that treasury looters now bury stolen funds in their backyards, deep forests and burial grounds in a bid to escape the scrutiny of Bank Verification Number (BVN) and evade arrest.
But Fayose countered by saying: “Looters in the Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidency, especially those being compensated for funding the election of the President in 2015 bury their own loots in the Villa with presidential protection.
“Should it be wrong for other supposed looters that do not have presidential protection like their All Progressives Congress (APC) counterparts to bury their loots in burial grounds probably for spiritual protection?”
“Nigerians can no longer be fooled with stage-managed loots recoveries, with no traceable owners (looters), especially when the loots are traceable to close associates of the President and his cabinet members.
“Obviously, this so-called anti-corruption war has become a laughing stock with N49 million found in Kaduna Airport, N448 million discovered in a shop at Victoria Island, Lagos and N13 billion found in Ikoyi, Lagos, neither having owners nor the identities of owners of the properties where the money was found known.”
“It is either the money belongs to members of Buhari’s government or it is being planted by the government to sustain its fake anti-corruption fight in the minds of the people.
“Enough of stage-managed and fake anti-corruption war aimed solely at opposition figures, especially presidential hopefuls in the 2019 election.”
The governor noted that two different laws were now being operated in the country, with one law for the APC and those who decamp to the party and the other for the opposition, especially those perceived as having presidential ambition.
He added: “The narrative they push daily is that only those in their government are saint while other Nigerians, including those in the National Assembly, Judiciary, opposition politicians and the civil servants are rogues while only Buhari’s appointees are saints.
“To worsen matters, the cluelessness of the APC government in the last two years has plunged the country into debt without anything to show.
“The cabals in the Presidency are also taking advantage of the President’s state of health, which is as a result of his age to oppress Nigerians.
“Nigerians must therefore keep their eyes on the ball and not be carried away by the orchestrated distractions aimed at preventing them from seeing how the APC led government has failed woefully.”
