The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has said that the ongoing trial of former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke by the United States Department of Justice on illegal diversion of Nigeria’s oil fund was a vindication of the position that has long been taken by Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki against corruption.
The party in a statement signed by its state publicity secretary, Alhaji Sullyman Buhari and made available to newsmen in Ilorin yesterday, urged Nigerians to do a flash back to May 2014 when in the seventh Senate, Saraki as a member of the Committee on Finance probing the allegation of missing $20 billion dissociated himself from an attempt to rail-road the committee into giving surreptitious clean bill of health to Allison-Madueke and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It noted that at that time when Saraki could have derived huge personal benefit from collaborating in the plot to clear Madueke against the findings of the committee, he refused to sign the report and then on May 29, 2014 issued a press statement to dissociate himself from any so-called clearance.
“We are raising this issue to refreshen the memory of all Nigerians, particularly those who are sponsoring the ‘Paint Saraki Black’ campaign for political purpose that the Senate President has always been a champion of transparency in public office and that when he stood the chance of deriving great personal financial benefit, he chose to protect and canvass the Nigerian cause. That is the case with the NNPC probe.
“In that case, he sacrificed even personal relationships. He chose to incur the wrath of the powers that be. Some investigations which some people now tried to use against him came out of the bitter attempt to get back at him. That is why we wonder how some people are trying to pin the label of corruption on him when on many occasions, he fought against corrupt practices. In fact, in the fuel subsidy issue, he was the anchor person against the fraudulent payment to some oil dealers in the name of subsidy.