By ROMANUS UGWU, Abuja
Former All Progressives Congress (APC) Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Timi Frank, has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari, to urgently constitute a panel of inquiry to investigate the alleged illegal withdrawal of N10 billion from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
In a statement he issued in Abuja on Sunday, Frank suggested that such a panel must necessarily be given a clear mandate to unravel the involvement of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF), Anthony Ayine, in the alleged illegality.
The political activist further noted that it has become extremely worrisome that the nation is sinking deeper into corruption, with multiple fraud scandals, at a time Nigerians expected to see tangible dividends of the anti-corruption war, which is the foremost object of this regime.
He also challenged Osinbajo to explain his role in the various corruption allegations against him since 2017 instead of always running to court to divert attention.
He called on the National Assembly not to only probe the N10 billion TSA heist, but to also act on their report by initiating impeachment proceedings against Osinbajo, if found wanting.
“Since after the 2019 general elections, Osinbajo has been enmeshed in one corruption allegation or the other, and it is high time an official probe is ordered to unravel the truth.
“First, Osinbajo was linked to N90 billion said to have been funneled to him by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to prosecute the 2019 general elections in the Southwest.
“The Vice President was also said to have received the sum of N4 billion from the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which is still questionable.
“Besides, the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness had indicted Osinbajo for approving the sum of N5.8 billion for emergency intervention of food security to the northeast in June 2017, when he was acting president.
“This is why the present allegation of illegal withdrawal of N10 billion from the TSA made against the VP has become one scam too many.
“It is only a thorough and unbiased investigative panel that can either confirm or disprove these allegations and the time to order such a probe by Buhari is now.
“Osinbajo, as an elected public official, owes Nigerians an inalienable obligation to explain his part in all these corruption allegations against him. Going to court and seeking to use legal gymnastics to intimidate and harass whistle blowers is at best diversionary.
“On his part, the AuGF should be suspended from office to allow for unhindered investigation of this illegality and gross abuse of office.
“The ongoing probe of the suspended acting chairman of the EFCC should serve as a template for the unraveling of this mind-boggling looting of the nation’s treasury.
“Nigerians expect the National Assembly to rise up and defend democracy and ensure that the nation’s resources are not brazenly plundered in this sordid manner.
“It is high time the lawmakers jettison their rubber stamp attitude, conduct diligent investigation and ensure that those found to have abused their offices are booted out, through impeachment or otherwise, and equally prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others,” Frank noted in the statement. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy Sunday Sun)
