Former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has said that it was impossible for his former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, to have stolen $2.2 billion as being accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Responding to questions after his lecture on Youth
Entrepreneurship at the famous Oxford Union in the United Kingdom, Jonathan,
said: “They said the National Security Adviser (Sambo Dasuki) stole
$2.2billion. I don’t believe somebody can just steal $2.2 billion.
“We bought warships, we bought aircraft, we bought lots of
weapons for the army and so on and so forth and you are still saying 2.2
billion, so where did we get the money to buy all those things?
“Yes, there were some issues. Yes, there are still
corruption issues but some of it were over blown. I’d say exaggerated and they
give a very bad impression about our nation. You cannot say the national
security adviser stole $2.2billion. It is not just possible.”
To avoid sounding confrontational with the current
government, Mr Jonathan explained that some of the corruption cases were still
in court and he would rather allow the legal processes to reveal the facts of
the matter.
He said: “One thing about the issue of corruption is that
these matters are in court, let’s allow some of these processes to end. Lately
some judges’ (homes) were also invaded. There are so many things involved and
we have to follow up these matters to conclusion before we know the fact.
“I don’t want to be seen a former president challenging what
the sitting government is doing so I have decided to keep quiet for the court
to look into them.”
“I am not saying there is no corruption in Nigeria, there is
corruption. If you look at corruption there is almost no country that is free,
the degree varies, the perception varies.
“Transparency International talks about the way corruption
is being perceived in different economies, why do we talk about the way
corruption is being perceived, it depends on the issue raised in the media
every day.”
Source: Dailypost.Ng
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