The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum on Saturday demanded a judiciary inquiry into the allegation by the United States that the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was planning to give $100 million to Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.
The amount was said to be part of the money stashed overseas by the regime of late Gen. Sani Abacha.
Apart from the alleged criminal deal of planning to hand the whopping sum to Bagudu, the U.S. Government, SMBLF said, gave a more damning allegation:
“The Department of Justice also contends that the Nigerian government is hindering US efforts to recover allegedly laundered money it says it has traced to Bagudu.
Buhari’s administration says a 17-year-old agreement entitles Bagudu to the funds and prevents Nigeria from assisting the US, according to recent filings from the District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington.”
According to the SMBLF, Bagudu was alleged be the Chief Financial Crimes Agent of Abacha.
The demands by the SMBLF were continued in a statement by Yinka Odumakin (South West), Gen. C.R.U Ihekire (retd.), South East), Senator Bassey Henshaw (South South) and Dr. Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt.)
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The SMBLF which said it was
“scandalised but not in the least surprised by the allegations”, made by the US said “the feeble denial by the Presidency does not cut it for us.”
The organisation faulted the refrain of “corruption fighting back”, which it said, the “integrity-challenged regime is wont to slander all those who call it to account locally.”
“We therefore demand a judiciary inquiry into the U.S. allegations and ask this government to shut its mouth and stop insulting us that it is fighting corruption until it clears itself”, the SMBLF stated.
The statement by the SMBLF reads, “The US Department also stated that the Nigerian government was frustrating attempts to recover part of the looted funds allegedly traced to Bagudu, who is the chairman of the All Progressives Congress Governors Forum.
“Only 48 hours back, we learnt that the Excess Crude Account which used to be in billions of dollars is now down to $70 million. The administration has plunged Nigeria to un-payable debt borrowing in three years more than what we previously borrowed in 30 years with no deliveries in town.
“We recall how the former Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun queried the the chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Ibrahim Magu), having no record of what EFCC recovered from corrupt politics.”
