Tambuwal Is Correct About Jonathan's Insincerity On Corruption ––Ribadu, APC, Others

The All Progressives Congress, the Campaign for Democracy, the
Human Rights Agenda Network and the pioneer Chairman of the
EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Tuesday told President Goodluck
Jonathan to see the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu
Tambuwal’s criticism of his administration’s anti-graft war as a
wake-up call, rather than attack his personality.
“Tambuwal and President Jonathan belong to the same political
party, but this did not deter the speaker from rising above crass
partisanship when the issue involved borders on national
interest.
“This is the stuff of good leadership. Tambuwal has shown that
he is indeed the Speaker of the House of Representatives and
that the entire country is his constituency.”
They said the criticism should not be dismissed with a wave of the
hand because it came from the speaker, who is not only a Peoples
Democratic Party member like Jonathan, but the nation’s number four
citizen.
Tambuwal had at an event organised by the Nigerian Bar Association
to mark the 2013 International Anti-Corruption Day in Abuja on
Monday , said the President’s body language did not show he had the
political will to stem graft in the country.
The APC, in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, commended Tambuwal, saying by speaking out
on the way the Jonathan government was handling the anti-graft war,
he had displayed patriotism and dedication to the nation.
It described the Jonathan administration’s fight against corruption as
tepid.
The party said the speaker exhibited a rare leadership trait by
shunning partisanship to speak out against the poor manner the
Jonathan government was handling glaring corruption cases. It noted
that corruption had eaten deeper into the national fabric since
Jonathan came to power.
The APC added: "We have raised the same issues raised by the
Speaker several times in our regular intervention, but the
administration has dismissed our concerns on the altar of
partisanship.
“However, now that no less a personality than the country’s number
four citizen and a top member of the PDP is the one raising the issue,
and coming against the background of Nigeria’s slide in the 2013
rankings released recently by the global anti-corruption body
Transparency International, we hope the administration will realise
that it has only been paying a lip service to the anti-graft battle, and
perhaps make amends.”
Also, Ribadu advised Jonathan to accept Tambuwal’s advice in good
faith. He said:
"My own and what I will want to add is to talk to President Jonathan
directly and say please listen: when people talk, especially serious
people, people who are in strategic positions in our country, when
they tell you something take it and improve yourself.
“The message of the Speaker is that of Mr. President, wake up, what
you have been doing is not going well especially with the fight
against corruption. And all that he (Tambuwal) said are nothing new.
“What he said is the truth. What he said is what Nigerians believe.
What he said is the fundamental thing that today all of us are worried
and concerned. It is not to come out say they are going to fight or
they are going to be defensive. It is a matter of telling you for you to
correct yourself.”