In response to the story pushed out by the presidency on Sunday providing more details on how N100 billion was allegedly moved to the private residence of former President Goodluck Jonathan by the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, from the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the run up to the 2015 polls, the former president has once again denied the allegation, saying there is an orchestrated campaign by the presidency to smear his name.
Speaking through his aide, Mr. Reno Omokri, the former president also took a pointed dig at Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who stirred the hornet’s nest last week with the corruption allegation, to stop hiding behind “faceless sources” if he was certain of his claim.
“The stories making the rounds in the media accusing former President Jonathan of looting N100 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria and taking it directly to his house are false. Such a thing never happened.
“The presidency knows so, which is why it circulated the story to various media houses and refused to attach its name, preferring to say that the story came from a ‘source’ in the presidency.
“I can authoritatively say that that source is no one other than the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo,” said Omokri in a statement yesterday.
According to him, the same story was leaked by “sources” almost word for word to several online media last year, adding that the allegations were lies.
“More interesting is the fact that it is because this administration continues to make false allegations of financial misappropriation to mislead the public by blackmailing political opponents that caused the Egmont Group to suspend Nigeria.
“The suspension is soon to have a very negative impact on Nigerian travellers who may soon find it very difficult to use their Nigerian domiciled cards abroad.
“Now, Nigeria is on the verge of being expelled from the Egmont Group precisely because of these types of shenanigans by the current administration. If Nigeria is expelled, it will be a great tragedy for our economy,” the former president’s aide added.
Omokri categorically denied that N100 billion or any other amounts of money were taken from the vault of the CBN and moved to Jonathan’s house, challenging Osinbajo to come out to substantiate his claim if he was sure of it instead of hiding behind “faceless sources”.
“This latest round of fallacious rumour mongering is nothing but the desperate last throes of a government that came in through propaganda and is about to go out because of a lack of proper agenda.
“The allegation is false and it is precisely because they have no evidence to support this allegation that they are using faceless third parties to spread this slur.
“President Jonathan’s administration has the enviable record of advancing Nigeria’s anti corruption war and delivered results to the point where we made our best ever improvement in Transparency International’s CPI in 2014 when we moved eight places forward from 144 to 136. Can this government say the same. How many people will they demonise?” he asked.
Omokri noted that when the Co-Founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates, cautioned the federal government last week on the absence of coherent policies to improve Nigeria’s human resources, he was dismissed by the administration.
“Bill Gates spoke, and they said he is a dropout. TY Danjuma has spoken, they have labelled him an anarchist. President Obasanjo spoke and they say he has a Messianic complex.
“President Babangida spoke, they arrested his spokesman. Bishop Kukah spoke, they told him to shut up. Nigerians spoke, they threatened us with death for hate speech!
“There is nobody involved in imposing President Muhammadu Buhari on Nigeria that is not secretly or openly regretting it. Even his own wife, Aisha, is full of regrets and has not hidden it.
“Some may not regret it openly, but when they are alone with their conscience, it is regret all the way!” he charged.