Yunusa Tanko, spokesman for the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has accused the Nigerian government of deliberately denying citizens access to important information.
Yunusa, who was reacting to the controversy surrounding the
seizure of three presidential jets in the United Kingdom, lamented how public
office holders secretly purchase properties without the knowledge of the
citizens.
Recall that a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial
Investment Co. Limited, was recently granted an order to seize a Dassault
Falcon 7X, an Airbus A330-243 and a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ belonging to the
Government of Nigeria.
Zhongshan, the company whose export processing zone
management contract was revoked by the Ogun State Government in 2016, had
sought the intervention of the French court in its contractual dispute with the
state government.
In its ruling, the court ordered the seizure of the three
jets belonging to the Nigerian Government.
According to reports, one of the jets which was recently
purchased by the government was on Friday, released for President Bola Tinubu’s
use.
The seizure of the jets have been generating controversies,
with stakeholders blaming the Nigerian government for its incompetence and
negligence.
Speaking on the matter, Peter Obi’s spokesman in a chat with
DAILY POST on Sunday, said the country may have more of such “cases that the
people don’t know anything about”.
According to him, “it is clear that most of the people that
found themselves in positions of power, do not know or are ignorant that they
are holding that office In trust and for the people.
“So they are supposed to be accountable and transparent to
the people all the time.
“They sign, buy properties and collect loans on behalf of
the people without them knowing. The Freedom of Information Act of 2011 gave
every Nigerian the right to access information.
“The Nigerian government keeps government transactions
secret for corruption purposes and when it gets exposed it becomes
embarrassing, they will then start looking for one lie to cover the first one.
“So the government needs to be accountable and transparent
to the people with open consultations. It saves the country from a lot of
embarrassment like the case of the presidential jets and Ogun State contract”.
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