Corruption: Buhari’s Administration Out Of Steam – Soyinka

Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on Wednesday claimed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has run out of steam in the fight against corruption.

According to him, this has resulted in manipulation of the system and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission rendered powerless in its fight against corruption.

Soyinka stated this on Wednesday while speaking on a television programme, Kakaaki, on AIT.

He added that the system has been manipulated that cases with evidence suddenly gets dropped without reasons.

The playwright said, “There are so many people who should be in prison if this government had not run out of steam, and so the system is being manipulated. There are cases where the prosecution had reached the level where evidence had been given on governors who had been stealing and depositing in bits and pieces so as not to flout a certain regulation. I mean cases have been taken to that level and suddenly, silence. The EFCC, which I back solidly ever since the days of (Nuhu) Ribadu, in all kinds of ways, we no longer know the distinguishing from rights and left.”

Soyinka while speaking on restructuring questioned the National Assembly for refusing to take responsibility since the executive had been hesitant on the issues.

He said the struggle of some selfish lawmakers for committee positions where the “goodies are shared” made them accomplices of the executive.

“And it is the responsibility of the constituency to remind them of these derelictions, these failures to come up to scratch as expected when they come round next for elections,” he added.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly has ordered the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire to suspend further action on spending N10bn on the production of COVID-19 vaccines.

The instruction was handed down on Wednesday by the National Assembly Joint Committee on Health when the Minister and other top government officials in the health sector appeared before it to defend their spending plan.