The
Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, Mr. Joe
Igbokwe, has advised a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu
Obanikoro, and two of his sons to return to Nigeria to answer the allegations
of fraud levelled against them.
While
Senator Obanikoro has been accused of helping the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele
Fayose, to rig the June 21, 2014 election, his sons, Gbolahan and Babajide, are
being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly
receiving N4.75bn from the Central Bank of Nigeria Imprest Account of the
Office of the National Security Adviser under Sambo Dasuki between June 6, 2014
and December, 12, 2015.
Senator
Obanikoro, who is a citizen of the United States, has since the defeat of
former President Goodluck Jonathan relocated to the US, where he is currently
studying History at Oglethorpe University in Georgia. His sons are also
currently in the US.
They
have all denied the allegations levelled against them.
However,
Igbokwe said the matter was a serious one and that the Obanikoros should come
to Nigeria to clear their name.
He
said issuing statements from the US was not enough.
The
APC spokesperson said Nigeria had an extradition treaty with the US, adding
that President Barack Obama had even promised to assist Nigeria in fighting
corruption.
He,
therefore, argued that even if the Obanikoros did not come back of their own
volition, the US government could repatriate them.
Igbokwe,
therefore, warned that it was better for the Obanikoros to come back to Nigeria
honourably than to be disgraced.
Igbokwe
said, “I advise the Obanikoro family to come back and prove that they have
nothing to do with these allegations. They must come to clear their family
name. It is important that they do this because the money that we are talking
about is too huge for them to just brush aside.
“Issuing
statements is not enough especially when there is evidence that cannot be
ignored. So, they better come back because if they don’t, America, which has
promised to support us, will extradite them.”
Source: The Punch
0 comments:
Post a Comment