Former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark may have courted more criticisms following his reaction to flaks generated by an earlier statement where he purportedly accused former President, Goodluck Jonathan of lacking the political will to fight corruption.
This time around, a Delta-based group, Ijaw Justice Forum, IJF, yesterday came hard on him for claiming that he did not get anything from the administration of former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, insisting that it is the height of ingratitude on the part of Clark. It categorically listed few things that the Niger-Delta chief benefited from the immediate past administration.
IJF, in a statement jointly signed by its president and secretary, Karona Etonye and Ekenwan Akwagbe respectively, said it was surprised at media report quoting Clark to have said among other things to that he did not get any contract and never asked for job slots for either his children or relatives in Jonathan regime.
The statement reads, “This is the peak of ingratitude from a man, who called himself the ‘father’ of the former president. He attracted patronage from the high and mighty from all parts of Nigeria and received gifts of cash and kind because of their perceived closeness of him to Dr. Jonathan.
“It is wicked and mischievous for Clark to say that he did not get anything from the Jonathan administration, including contracts. Perhaps, Clark made this statement to the Vanguard reporter in his dream, has he forgotten that his company was awarded a contract for the reclamation and shore protection of Amadi-ama community in Rivers State by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs during the Jonathan era? The group added.
They asserted, “It can be said and indeed correctly that Clark is the proverbial fowl that eats and cleans its beak or mouth on the ground so that there will be no trace of food particles on the sides of its mouth. This, he has done to several persons that occupied public offices in the past.
“Between 1999 and 2007, Chief Clark was one of the elders that benefitted most from the administration of Chief James Ibori in Delta State. As it is characteristic of him, he sponsored a so-called Delta Elders and Stakeholders’ Forum to petition the EFCC alleging that Ibori committed monumental corrupt practices while in office.
“It is quite unfortunate that Chief Clark at 90 can peddle lies and make them appear as if they were true. How would Clark say that he did not ask for jobs for his children or for his relatives? Has he forgotten the note he wrote to the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe asking him to use his good offices to make his younger brother, Mr. Isa Clark the Coordinator of the Sure- P programme in Delta South Senatorial District? The group further said.
It asserted, “Under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, Chief Clark applied for and was granted licence to establish a private university, the E. K. Clark University in his hometown, Kiagbodo. The launching, which took place in the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja was attended by the who- is- who in Nigerian politics, including Dr. Jonathan himself.”
“To complement the federal government gesture, the NDDC awarded contract for the sinking of a bore hole in the university campus. It is incontrovertible that he had that huge patronage because of the former president. If he doubts it, we challenge him to come up with a new project and see how many Nigerians of substance will attend,” IJF said.
According to it, “There are many more gains that Clark made in the Jonathan era, never before in his political life has he gotten the kind of patronage he had under Jonathan.”
The group pointed out that Chief Clark contributed hugely to failure of the former president in the March presidential polls, saying, “The insults and abuses he rained on leading political figures across Nigeria attracted hatred to Jonathan and that affected negatively the outcome of the election results.”
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