Corruption Allegation: Senator Slams Obasanjo

The Senate’s Deputy
Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah on Monday  slammed  former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his repeated corruption allegation against Senators and House of Representatives members.
Obasanjo  had on Monday in Abuja in the heat of the ongoing allegation and counter-allegations of  budget paddings among the leadership of the House of Representatives, told State House  correspondents that the allegations vindicated his earlier statement that the federal lawmakers are rogues.
Senator Na’Allah who expressed  dissapointment over the former President’s habit of painting the lawmakers  black at every given opportunity said in actual sense, Obasanjo   is the corrupt person and not  the 469 federal lawmakers in the National Assembly as he claimed.
According to him, Obasanjo lacked the moral right to  make such allegations ,in view of his corruption laden antecedents while in power , one of which was the alleged N50million bribe offered to each of the federal lawmakers during the 5th National Assembly in his bid to secure a third term in office, which finally  failed.
Na’Allah in a  statement made available  to newsmen declared that he rejected the bribe and challenged Obasanjo to come out with any proven records of corruption he has against him , failure of which he said , Obasanjo should consider his blanket allegation of corruption against National Assembly members as reckless.
The statement read in parts : “My attention has been drawn to a purported statement attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which it was alleged that he made a sweeping statement to the effect that there are no men of integrity in the National Assembly.
“I am respectfully taking exception to the statement which I express the hope is not true.  To start with, it is not in my character to join issues with elder statesmen who have had the privilege of superintending over the affairs of our great country.
“This exception has become necessary in view of the enormity of the alleged statement to my person and integrity. If former President Obasanjo can come out with one proven record of curruption against me as a person, I promise to vacate my seat as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  “For the records, I was the only member from Kebbi State who did not find it worthy at that time of collecting the sum of 50 million naira as an inducement to subvert the Constitution and provide a constitutional framework for the third term ambition of President Obasanjo. I find this statement, if it is true to be reckless and terrifying.
“The implications of the statement is to say that the entire over 170 million Nigerians have not elected a single person with integrity among the 469 members of the National Assembly. This is definitely rhapsodic and does not conform to commonsense and reason”.

Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja