Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman
of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), has said his
committee cannot investigate the failed $16 billion National Integrated Power
Project carried out during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
Recall that Buhari
had sometime in May hinted on probing Obasanjo over the failed $16 billion
power project.
Obasanjo, while reacting, said
that he was ready for probe over the power project.
However, Sagay speaking to
Independent said his committee had not looked into the project because it did
not have the mandate to do so. He said investigation and prosecution were the
responsibilities of anti-corruption agencies.
He said: “When the time comes, we
will meet with Buhari on the power project. It is an issue that we were not
seriously thinking about in my committee.
“As I said, the anti-corruption
agencies are the ones who have all the facts and figures.
“So, we will meet them and give
them the initiatives, but if this thing becomes a political issue, it may be
necessary to dig in, get the facts and take the appropriate action.
“If anybody wants to make capital
of politics by running down the government – which is the most upright
government we have had since Murtala Mohammed government – then, this
government may have to show that it is a government of principle and a
government that has a will to suppress corruption, and those who challenge it
will face the music.
“It is not that we don’t want to
look into the issue of the $16 billion power project because of the former
president but the truth is that my committee doesn’t have that power.
“We don’t do investigation or
prosecution. Our work is mainly that of a think-tank. In other words, we do
activities to give the anti-corruption agencies greater capacity to make them
more effective.
“We make proposals to the
government to help the fight against corruption. For example, we have been
engaged in training of judges and prosecutors both at the federal and state
levels.
“We have been engaged in
preparing manuals for prosecutors to use, preparing sentencing guidelines for
judges to use.
“We also draft the bill on
proceeds of crime which will give the agencies power to seize assets that they
suspect have been acquired by crime or illegitimately, putting anyone claiming
it under the obligation of establishing how he got it.
“We have a draft of that; it is
with the National Assembly. We have a special crimes court which would have
done more effectively what the Chief Justice has done by saying that certain
courts should be set aside for crimes, particularly corruption.
“Of course, we also write regular
advice to the president over issues that we think are pertinent towards the
fight against corruption,” he said.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com