• Wabara, Mohammed differ as Kokori okays 10 years ban
First Republic Minister, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama-Sule has called for a ban on public officers convicted of looting public funds from partaking in partisan politics and holding public offices.
Maitama-Sule told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano, yesterday, that the ban should be backed by law to be passed by the National Assembly.
“This will be possible when there is law to back it and we hope the law will be enacted soon to support the idea,” he said.
He noted that the fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by public officers has become the beginning of wisdom.
“EFCC has done extremely well in the discharge of its responsibilities so far, as there are a lot of recovered looted funds now.
“But, the biggest challenge for EFCC is that it can investigate but it does not have the power to to spend the money for other purposes.”
Maitama-Sule, who was also the country’s former permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), called for an enabling law for the government to utilise the recovered looted funds to improve the living standard of Nigerians, especially the common man.
He suggested the revitalisation of education, agriculture and power sectors to give the nation’s moribund industries a new lease of life using the recovered funds.
The elder statesman commended President Muhammadu Buhari for tackling insurgency in the North-East.
“No meaningful development can be achieved in any country without peace and even the most diehard cynics know that President Buhari has done well in terms of restoration of peace in the country,” he said.
Maitam-Sule urged Nigerians to continue to support and show understanding to the government in its determination to restore sanity in the country.
But, former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara and former federal lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed have expressed reservations with Sule’s proposal .
Wabara believes such measure may be used as a political tool against opponents by a ruling government, while Mohammed said such step would not augur well for the country’s democracy.
According to Mohammed, the judiciary should rather be strengthened to punish anybody who is indicted for corruption.
He argued that placing a blanket ban on any politician on account of financial indiscretion may turn out to be an over-kill.
“Anybody making such proposition is being mischievous.
“We have to talk about strengthening our judicial system so that it can rise to the occasion of punishing anybody that violates the law in proportionate with the crime he or she has committed.
“ If there is need for a court to ban a looter of public funds for a number of years, that is fine. But, you cannot be talking about life ban. There is no true democracy where such a thing works “.
The vocal politician added: “ I would have preferred the Chinese system which is capital punishment for anybody found to have looted the treasury, but, the danger there is that an innocent person may be a victim.
“Let us empower and support the judiciary to do its job by punishing violators of our laws judiciously and judicially.”
Wabara insisted that such step, if taken, might be abused.
“Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong with the call because we all want the country to be rid of corruption. But, the truth is that it will not be in tandem with our law.
“It will become a political tool to end the political career of opponents by the ruling party. We can still fight corruption without doing all that.”
Former labour leader and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Frank Kokori said people convicted of looting public treasury should be barred from holding public office for 10 years. He told Daily Sun yesterday that after 10 years , looters would have lost everything.
However, the former labour leader said Nigeria has not reached that stage.
According to him, such a law can only succeed in a dictatorship or any of the communist or socialist states like China.
Kokori said for such a ban to succeed, it has to be passed into law by the National Assembly, but wondered if the legislature can ever pass such a law when some of them will be the culprit.
He said the most important thing in the fight against corruption in the country, at the moment, is to strengthen the judiciary so that they can be conviction of looters.
“In Nigeria, we have not reached that stage. Ten years is okay.
“After 10 years, the person would have lost evrtything, including name and wealth. The problem is how many people have they convicted. The law is too cumbersome in getting convictions.
“He is talking sense.
“Nigeria has not reached that stage. Countries that can do that are communist countries.
“In Western democracy that we are copying, itwill be difficult to push through,” Kokori said.
In a related development, a senator in the Seventh National Assembly, Solomon Ewuga, from Nasarawa State said looters of public fund should not be allowed to get away with it.
“Maitiama Sule has said it all.
“There is nothing more to add to it,” he told Daily Sun.