Mohammed Badaru, Minister of Defence
By AMOS MATHEW, Kaduna –
A Northern group known as Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has debunked a petition submitted by what it called a faceless group to the Economic and Financial Crime Commissions (EFCC) and the Independent Corruption Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate and prosecute the Minister of Defence and former governor of Jigawa State, Muhammed Abubakar Badaru, over alleged abuse of office.
In a statement signed by the Convener of the group, Muhammad Yakubu said, “Nigerians should not introduce ethnicity in the good works that Badaru is doing in the defence ministry because if he is not doing well, President Bola Tinubu would have removed him long ago. But the President has confidence in him and his performance.
“So those hiding under this petition through this faceless group to pull down the Minister are doing out of sheer envy. They are envious of the Ministerial position of Badaru. And we make bold to tell such unpatriotic persons that there is no vacancy in the ministry of Defence. They should beam their poor searchlight somewhere else”.
“We also want to say that the petition that Mohammed Badaru Abubakar maintains directorship in private companies, in violation of federal law prohibiting public officers from engaging in private business activities, is nothing but deliberate lies cooked up from the pit of hell.
“The faceless group wrote that “Shockingly, Mr. Abubakar continues to file annual returns for these companies, with records as recent as last year. Most egregiously, he operates a licensed Bureau de Change (BDC) while holding a federal ministerial position, flagrantly disregarding the laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest and corruption.
“Arewa Think Tank finds this accusation not only as a figment of imagination, but a calculated attempt to incite relevant stakeholders against the performing Minister of Defence.
“We demand for thorough inquiry by EFCC and ICPC to establish the genuiness of this faceless group in order to ascertain their real intention to write against the Minister’s asset declarations.
“We believe that a complainant can turn accuser, therefore, we wish to urge the anti-graft agencies to enforce stricter investigation of the background of the petitioners as they may have disregarded the principles of due process expected of factual petitioners.
“We want to say categorically that the action of the faceless petitioners suggests a threat to the nation’s security. And therefore such action should be nip in the bud without delay.
“The Ministry of Defense, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s security, cannot be ridiculed by individuals who want to rock the sailing boat in the middle of Sea. Where were these petitioners when Badaru passed all the processes to becoming the Ministers of one of the sensitive Ministries in the country. We want to believe that the petitioners are to rubbish the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. But they will never succeed.
“We trust that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will act decisively to ensure that these petitioners are exposed with their evil intentions to rubbish the Minister of Defence, Muhammed Abubakar Badaru”. The statement said.
