~ Former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu ~The presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the 2011 polls and former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has called for a credible opposition to the ruling Peoples Democractic Party, PDP, in 2015.
He spoke at the weekend in Kaduna during the 7th annual Ramadan lectures organised by the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN.
Ribadu, who is the Chairman, Presidential Task Force Committee on Petroleum, noted that the nation was in dire need of a credible alternative to the PDP.
He said the ongoing merger talks among opposition political parties would be the only option for Nigerians to confront the PDP.
His words: “I am 100 per cent in support of the merger move by the opposition political parties in Nigeria. I believe that there is the need for all the political parties in Nigeria to come together particularly those who are in the opposition.
“Nigeria is in dire need of a credible alternative to PDP. If the parties come together, chances are that they would be able to have a formidable party that will confront PDP and until that is done, hopefully, it will bring relief to Nigerians.”
The former EFCC boss, who was retired prematurely as Assistant Inspector- General of Police, also noted that the Nigeria Police Force is in tatters and should be urgently fixed for the nation to overcome its security and internal challenges.
The police must be reformed for peace to reign in Nigeria, Ribadu said.
“The issue of security is very clear. We have a constitution in Nigeria that says the organ or the government agency that is responsible for ensuring that we have security, peace and stability is the Nigeria Police Force. Work on the Nigeria Police Force, fix the Nigeria Police Force, it is their own responsibility, no one else.
“Today, however, the Nigeria Police Force is tattered. It is in bad shape. If we want to have peace, if we want to have a genuine sustainable peace in this country, law enforcement, rule of law, then fix the Nigeria Police Force,” he said.
Commenting on the fuel subsidy scam, the former anti-corruption czar said only the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, could tell Nigerians the true position of the much-talked about oil import fraud, saying that the organisation is directly responsible for importation of all petroleum products and subsidy payments.
“The problem of oil subsidy fraud we are facing today is directly the responsibility of the PPPRA, as the regulatory agency in the petroleum sector.
“If you want to know what really happened in the whole oil scandal you just have to go to the PPPRA because they are the ones that approves the licences for people to import petroleum products,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that his message against perverse and corrupt leaders has not changed and that he would not tone down his message despite his being grilled by the State Security Service, SSS, last week in Lagos on the matter.
Bakare said: “Whenever you ask the prophet to tone down his message, his God will respond on his behalf. The answer to tone down is tone up.
“In the days of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the message that shook the nation was titled “No more walls” preached on March 7, 1999. Today the message is stronger and bolder.”
The convener of the Save Nigerian Group, SNG, said that those who are in the helm of affairs of the nation are set of deceitful and insincere leaders who lacked the wisdom and political will to do what is right.
“My message has not changed since the days of the military. A corrupt, perverse, wasteful, directionless and clueless government is offensive to me and should be offensive to every intelligent patriot in this nation.
“The messages I preach are only biased in favour of righteousness, justice and truth. To this, I plead guilty because there is nothing anyone can do against truth, but for the truth.
“If I am being asked to tone down my message because of perceived partisanship, those asking me to do so have only succeeded in precipitating a tone up and examples abound in scriptures which I encourage our security service agents and men of the armed forces and the police to read and meditate on in the pursuit of their lawful duties,” he added.
Bakare also said that the recent arraignment of those involved in the oil subsidy scandal was a mere charade, stressing that the brains behind the scam were those who sponsored the election of President Goodluck Jonathan and top members of his cabinet.
The cleric, who spoke yesterday while delivering the second part of his sermon in his church tagged, “How to change government peacefully and make society better”, said that what was going on in the arraignment of the so-called subsidy fraudsters was a mere window dressing, and, therefore, would not tone down his preaching but tone it up.
“The shenanigans and the charade going on in respect of the subsidy thieves, in my considered opinion are that the efforts of this government cannot deliver justice, neither are they meant to.”
Bakare also berated the wife of the President for her activities. “Can you imagine that as the nation is burning, Dame Patience Jonathan, the First Lady, is busy pursuing and obtaining the status of an absentee Permanent Secretary? Does this make any intelligent sense except to political morons and imbeciles?”
The cleric warned the security agencies to re-channel their energies towards doing their primary assignment of maintaining peace and providing security for Nigerians instead of arresting people for saying the truth.
“Otherwise they are going to see the wrath of God.
“Be careful how you carry out your assignment against genuine servants of God by any label, Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. Be careful not to obey the last order, especially if the last order is evil or against natural justice, you cannot obey such without bringing damnation upon your own head.”
He challenged the security men to always obey the voice of God in their assignments because “it is wise to obey a wise counsel than a foolish order that will lead to double condemnation.”
“Don’t assume you will get away with the evil you perpetrate against the priests when you turn to do same with the prophet. Just remember that judgement eventually fell upon King Saul, his sons and servants,” he noted.
Bakare likened a few intelligent technocrats who are sincere but find themselves at the corridor of power with somebody who put on a white garment and falls inside a pit.
He noted that they had the opportunity to get out of the mess now before they were also consumed by the imminent prophetic revolution.
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