Follow Us on Google
By Lukman Olabiyi
A coalition of 25 pan Yoruba groups, Oodua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC), has declared that the current campaign for the sack of the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, would derail the anti-corruption campaign.
ONAC made the declaration while setting an agenda for the president-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, at a press conference yesterday.
The coalition’s officials, Popoola Ajayi and Babatunde Adeleke, asked the president-elect to focus on the fight against corruption, being one of the greatest challenges facing the country. They said removing Bawa at this time would weaken the organisation and fuel political interference in the affairs of the anti-corruption agency.
“If the incoming administration is committed to fighting corruption, it will be suspicious if it falls into the hands of EFCC detractors.
“While we recognise the shortcomings of the EFCC, we are also conscious of the historic intervention of the anti-graft agency in promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria.
“We are currently working with other organisations across the country, especially ethnic groups in the Niger-Delta, Middle Belt, North West and North East to mobilise against any attempt to impose a rookie on the EFCC for political reasons. The ethnic groups represent the culture, values and heritage of Nigerians. We are in the best position to resist this attempt to remove the EFCC chairman for political reasons
“The removal of the head of such a strategic organisation cannot be in the interest of Nigerians at this moment. We, on the other hand, call on politically exposed persons to stop the attacks on the EFCC.
“Bawa should be allowed to complete the ongoing investigations against some important political figures, including those in the ruling party, the APC, who are desperate to ensure the removal of the EFCC chairman, hiding under the illogical proposition that he has failed to obey court orders,” the leaders of the coalition held.
