A group, the Integrity and Justice Initiative has faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s verdict that Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) was not culpable of any crime during his tenure as the chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund. It described the verdict as unacceptable.
Addressing journalists in Lagos on Sunday, Mr. Ayo Fadaka, on behalf of the group, said Obasanjo’s verdict was a desperate plan to cover up for his preferred candidate in the February presidential election.
The group accused Obasanjo of making mockery of the PTF probe report which, it said, had thrown up a number of salient issues bothering on embezzlement and mismanagement of public funds.
The group said, “We call on the former President to apologise to Nigerians for this ugly attempt to cover up for Buhari and also charge Buhari to come clean and explain to Nigerians how these massive graft and corruption escaped his notice while serving as chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund.”
The group also frowned at the failure of the All Progressives Congress, APC presidential candidate to provide copies of his academic qualifications to the Independent National Electoral Commission, as demanded by the electoral law.
It said despite the dust raised on the issue of certificate, Buhari had remained silent on the matter and refused to do the needful, insisting that the affidavit Buhari deposed to on November 24, 2014, in which he informed INEC and Nigerians that his credentials were with the Secretary of the Military Board breached the provisions of section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitutions and 31 (2) of the Electoral Act.
It said: “For the avoidance of doubt, section 131 (d) of the Constitution says that ‘A person shall be qualified for election into the office of President if he has been educated, at least, up to the school certificate level or its equivalent.
“For its part, section 31 (2) of the Electoral Act says, ‘The list or information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the High Court of a state indicating that he has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office.’
“The group argued that it is clear from the provisions of the two laws quoted that Buhari does not qualify to stand as a presidential candidate for the February 14, 2015 “as he has failed to show proof that he has been educated up to school certificate level.”
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