The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has during an interview with Channels TV this morning cautioned against beaming the corruption searchlight into the presidency alone.
The president’s aide while speaking on the suspension of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal and former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke and the investigation ordered by the president into the recovery of $43 million from an apartment in Ikoyi said: “you don’t need to single out the presidency.”
He added: “The question should be how deep is the corruption in Nigeria. There is corruption everywhere, everywhere in the country and don’t forget that the Vice President has said it before that there is corruption everywhere. Judiciary, Executive, Legislator, there is corruption everywhere, possibly in broadcasting. There is corruption everywhere in Nigeria.”
During the interview, Femi Adesina in reaction to the question asked by the suspended SGF, “Who is the Presidency,” said only Babachir Lawal could answer the question as it was rhetorical to begin with.
The reply comes on the heels of the SGF, Babachir Lawal’s reaction to his suspension as ordered by president Muhammadu Buhari.
Femi Adesina said: “It takes me back to school days when we were taught rhetorical questions. We were told that Rhetorical questions don’t need an answer, so I just see that as a rhetorical question. If we must get an answer, then we must get it from the SGF because he asked it”.
Speaking on why the panel constituted to probe the connection of the suspended political officers with the recovered $43 million from the Ikoyi apartment consist of only 3-men, rather than the EFCC or ICPC, Adesina said: “It is a matter of procedure by government. If government feels this is the way we want to go about it and it is lawful, then there is nothing wrong with it. I believe there is nothing wrong with the government setting up a panel to investigate”.