Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark, on Tuesday declared that his position on President Muhammadu Buhari fighting corruption better than his political son, former president Goodluck Jonathan, has not changed.
This was as he went down memory lane to disclose how he embarrassed Jonathan with a public statement he made. Clark, a staunch ally of Jonathan had in 2015 while announcing his decision to quit partisan politics, said “Jonathan didn’t have the political will to fight corruption. He’s too much of a gentleman.”
He at the time pointed out that, “Drivers of yesterday were living in palatial buildings now under his government. In advanced countries, when you are living above your means, people query you. That’s not so in Nigeria. Former governors and lawmakers are now asking for immunity.”
This comment attracted him hard knocks from Jonathan’s former special adviser on media and publicity, Reuben Abati, who in an article, recalled how Clark curried favours from the Jonathan presidency and wondered if the elder statesman could have made such utterances if Jonathan was not defeated at the 2015 presidential election by Buhari.
Speaking on Tuesday when asked by RayPower FM if the group he leads were out to ensure Buhari doesn’t win his re-election bid, the chieftain of the Southern and Middle-Belt Forum said, “I am one of those who believe in Mr. President’s anti-corruption crusade. I have said this even to the embarrassment of the former president (Goodluck Jonathan) and his group. They even said that very soon, I will call President Buhari my son. You saw the publication by Reuben Abati. I have not changed my mind.
“Whether the (anti-corruption war) is one-sided or not, no president has done what Mr. President has done in the area of corruption. I’m the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum. I came out to say there should be no more vandalisation of pipelines. We went with the Vice President to the Niger Delta, we could sit in our house if we were against Mr. President.”
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