Jonathan reacts to Tinubu’s corruption claims against his administration

-Goodluck Jonathan refutes label of corruption slammed on his administration by Bola Tinubu.

-He also fired back at Buhari’s government, accusing him of running a corruption entrenched government. 

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has countered the claims by the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed that corruption reigned supreme during his administration.

Tinubu had accused Jonathan’s government of been corrupt while speaking as the keynote speaker at the presentation of a book titled: “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.

However, speaking through a statement released by his former media aide, Reno Omokri, Jonathan urged Tinubu to look at the verdict of the Transparency International on the state of corruption when he was the president of Nigeria.

The statement read:

“First of all, the only global body for monitoring corruption is Transparency International which releases an annual Corruption Perception Index.

“It is a fact that Nigeria made her most improvement in Transparency International‘s annual Corruption Perception Index in 2014 under President Jonathan when we moved from 144 to 136 representing an improvement of eight points.

“Transparency International observed the Jonathan administration’s fight against corruption in Nigeria’s fertilizer procurement regime, the use of technology to remove 50,000 federal ghost workers and the speed at which the then president fired ministers accused of corruption or conflict of interests.

“From that time till today, Nigeria has not made any improvements and has remained at 136 where Jonathan left us because Transparency International deals with facts, not opinions or media trial.”

Jonathan added: “Other than media sensationalism, there have been no convictions of financial misappropriation stemming from the Jonathan era.

READ ALSO: EFCC arrests former SGF, Pius Ayim

“However, we do know that it is a fact that the allegedly corrupt pension thief, Abdulrasheed Maina, was dismissed and declared wanted by the Jonathan administration.

“We also now know that it is a fact that the present Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, met with Maina in Dubai. We know that Maina’s family revealed in a press conference that Maina was invited back to Nigeria by the present government. It is also a fact that Maina was recalled, reinstated and given double promotion by the current administration.

“Moreover, we know from the Head of Service’s leaked memo that President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of this entire saga.

“Perhaps, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu mistook the Usain Bolt speed at which Maina was smuggled back into the country and reinstated for the unproven claims of corruption under Jonathan.

“We also know that it is a fact that $25 billion worth of contracts were awarded at the NNPC without due process. It is also a fact that this is the highest ever such amount involved in Nigeria’s history. Again, perhaps it is this amount that Tinubu meant when he said, ‘so much money grew feet and ran away faster than Usain Bolt ever could.’ Or perhaps he was referring to Babachir Lawal.

“Nigerians should note that on the 7th of March 2014, then President Jonathan said, ‘I am loyal to Nigeria’s economy. I don’t have accounts or property abroad.’ “Till date, nobody has been able to contradict that statement because it is true.

“Can Bola Tinubu or anybody in the APC leadership make a similar claim?