Buhari above financial scandal, says Garba Shehu
The Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Tuesday, said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is above scandal, adding that the president does not have any bank account stashed with corrupt money.
Shehu said this while speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme, noting that his principal has performed well in the fight against corruption.
Some past Nigerian leaders including the former Head of State, Sani Abacha; former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke; former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori; and many more have all been charged with financial crimes by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Economic Financial Crimes Commission, for secretly keeping millions of funds in several accounts locally and internationally.
However, some of these monies have been recovered and returned to the Federal Government.
According to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index report by Transparency International in January 2023, Nigeria fell four places from 154 out of 180 countries and territories in the latest ranking.
Speaking on the TV programme, Shehu disclosed that Buhari does not operate any account with funds looted from the government nor fear scandal or prosecution after leaving office for such.
He said, “The President is still what he is; he is still above board,”
“As his spokesperson, I go to bed, I sleep soundly convinced that nobody, whether from Nigeria or outside the country, can call me to say we have discovered this bank account and your boss has these huge millions. That’s not Buhari; he is well above scandal and that is how it will end.”
Punch