From: Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
A national leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, has said the Goodluck Jonathan administration won gold medal in corruption.
This is even as he said had Jonathan’s government remained in power, Boko Haram insurgency would have taken more territory and devoured more people, adding that the nation would surely have been divided.
Tinubu said so much money grew feet and ran faster than Jamaican runner, Usani Bolt, adding that the money that should have been spent on development was squandered in ways that could cause the devil to blush.
Tinubu said this as the keynote speaker at the book presentation, ;Making Steady, Sustainable Progressive for Nigeria’s Peace and Prosperity: A mid-term scorecard on the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration”, held at the State House Conference Center, Abuja.
According to Tinubu, “the prior government used the public treasury as a private hedge fund or a charity that limited its giving only to themselves.
“So much money grew feet and ran away faster than Usain Bolt ever could. That which could have been spent on national development was squandered in ways that would cause the devil to blush.
“One minister and her rogues’ gallery picked the pocket of this nation for billions of dollars. While poor at governance, these people could give a master thief lessons in the sleight of hand. In governance, they earned a red card but in corruption l, they won the gold medal.
“It was not that our institutions had become infected by corruption. Corruption has become institutionalised”.
The former Lagos State governor affirmed that the war on corruption has been won as President Buhari has set an axe to what he called, “the root of this dangerous tree.”
He noted that fine are the days when a minister can pilfer billions of dollars as easy as plucking a piece of candy from the table.
Tinubu added, “We have much to do to combat this disease. Not only must we track down the takers. In the long term, we must review the salaries of public servants and create universal credits for our people to reduce temptation.”