ANTI-GRAFT: JONATHAN'S GOVERNMENT FIGHTS WHISTLE BLOWERS- HURIWA +CONDEMNS SACK OF DR. BASHIR GWANDU FROM NCC
"The Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan should come under considerable condemnation from the civil society community in Nigeria for waging subtle war against whistle blowers and other pro-transparency campaigners in Nigeria which is responsible for the unprecedented rise in corruption and economic crimes by highly placed Government officials at all levels of Government in the Country. The organized civil society community in the country must as a matter of necessity increase the tempo of pressure on this current administration and the National Assembly to pass effective legislations for the protection of whistle blowers because it is virtually impossible to wage successful anti-graft crusade if those good and patriotic citizens with information on how to fight corrupt practices are severely disabled and inhibited by the powers-that-be from helping the country to solve the hydra-headed monster of crruption. The two anti-graft bodies are currently run as mere government agencies and they have failed to step up the tempo of anti-graft war beyond the business-as-usual fashion that most incompetent federal Government agencies are so used to".
The above was the conclusion of the HUMAN RIGHT WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] in a statement to the media jointly authorized by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of Media Miss. Zainab Yusuf, even as the RIGHTS group upbraided the Federal Government for the sack of the Executive Drector [Technical Services] of the Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC] Dr. Bashir Gwandu on November 6th 2012 in a letter by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation following the findings of two internal committees set up by Government to investigate the allegation of corruption against the hierarchy of the Nigerian Communications Commission made by the then Executive Director [DR. Bashir Gwandu].
Specifically, HURIWA recalled that as reported by the media, the crisis of confidence in the Nigerian Communicaions Commission started when D. Gwadu alleged that some officials of the NCC were involved in the frequency spectrum/band racketeering just as the now relieved Exeutive Director alleged that some top NCC officials sold the frequency spectrum beonging to the Nigerian Police Force to a Private firm-Openskys Ltd. According to the media report, Gwandu alleged that the frequency band 450 MHZ occupied by the Nigeria Police Force since 2009 was sold to the private firm without competitive bidding process as provided for by the NCC Act of 2003 and that the transaction was done without consideration for national security. He reportedly stated that the 450 MHZ frequency was valued at over $50 million but was sold for less than $6 million allegedly by the NCC chairman Dr. Juwah on September 26th 2011 to Openskys ltd, a company owned allegedly mainly by Sir. Emeka Offor and his associates. NigComsat ltd owns 25 % of the company's shares.
In the media statement, HURIWA further stated that the NCC denied these allegations by Dr. Gwandu.
But the Rights Group faulted the process which resulted in the recent sack from the NCC of Dr. Gwandu by the Feral Government following the allegations of corruption that he raised because according to HURIWA section 36[5] which specifically provides for fair hearing was not adhered to even as it appeared that the former Executive Director is being witch hunted for working as whistle blower which is covered by section 15[5] of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria[as amended] which tasked Government to vigourously fight to eliminate all traces of corruption and abuse of office by officials of the Federal, state and local Government.
Besides, HURIWA also accused the Federal Government of not doing enough to promote transparency, accountability and zero-tolerance to crruption by the refusal persistently of President Jonathan to publicly disclose his declared assets so that the members of the public could be in a better informed background to judge the commitment or otherwise of his administration to fight corruption which is threatening to destroy the economy of the corporate entity of Nigeria. The Rights body said it was worried by the recent disclosure that almost N5 trillion have been stolen by Government fficials under the current admnistration just as it challenged President Jonathan to ensure that these huge public fund stolen are retrieved and the perpetrators of these monumental crimes are arretsed, prosecuted and sanctioned in the competent courts of law.
HURIWA accused the nation's judiciary of also playing active roles to promote the perpetuation of corruption and economic crimes by Government officials following the recent ruling by the Federal High Court, Abuja Division which dismissed a suit seeking the prosecution of the former military President General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida [rtd] over the alleged disappearance of $12 billion crude oil fund from the public treasury during his military regime.
HURIWA stated that ths judgment if allowed to stand will be the final nail in the coffin of Nigeria because it will send global signal that Government of Nigeria including the nation's judiciary are actively working to promote corruption on grandscale. The Rights Group has therefore called on Nigerians to mount unrelenting pressure through non-violent civil actions and protests in January 2013 to compel this Government to wage ransparent war against corruption, prosecute and recover all stolen Nigeria's assets and fund from looters including the mlti-billion stolen fuel subsidy fund by fraudulent fel importers. The Rights group also charged the Chief Justice of Nigeria to rise to the occasion by activating effective mechanism within the National Judicial Council to identify and punish corrupt judges who are aiding and abetting corruption and economic crimes in Nigeria.