Society Gists

The leader of the Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare, has urged President Bola Tinubu to pursue organisations and people who stole “trillions of naira” in fuel subsidies.

In a national broadcast on July 31, Tinubu said that throughout the years, trillions of naira intended for fuel subsidies had been “funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.”

In his speech on Sunday, Bakare encouraged the president to make sure that those charged with stealing public funds from private companies and individuals face the full force of the law.

The cleric said economic reforms planned to better the lives of the masses may amount to futility if there is no “economic justice”.

“I expect that President Tinubu has been well briefed on investigations that were conducted over the years as well as individuals and agencies and cooperate entities indicted. I sincerely hope that the president is poised to take the needed action, because whether he likes it or not, the honeymoon is over and Nigerians are asking questions,” Bakare said.

“Nigerians are not asking whether these alarming cases of corruption occurred during his administration or not. Nigerians are not exonerating him and blaming the past presidents who failed to do justice on these issues.

“Nigerians are asking why the poor have to suffer for the criminal activities of individuals and companies that are well known. We must realise as a nation that no economy can thrive on criminal impunity. There can be no successful economic reforms without economic justice.

“By imposing hardship on Nigeria without going after those individual, cooperations who have plundered Nigeria over the years, the president has picked the wrong fight.

“Mr President, if you are truly on the side of the poor; if you are serious about the welfare of the people; if you truly want the poor to breathe as you once said, then kill corruption and not Nigerians.”

On Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who is currently under the custody of the Department of Security Services (DSS), Bakare said Tinubu should desist from making him a scapegoat.

The cleric said the erstwhile CBN governor could not have embarked on some monetary policies without the authorisation of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Considering the reported claims by the DSS that Emefiele’s actions were in line with orders from above, the handling of his case has sent a signal to the world that the current president’s disposition to the war against corruption is primarily motivated by clampdown of perceived political adversaries, while various other enemies of Nigeria remain untouched,” Bakare said.

“Godwin Emefiele may have made the wrong judgment calls in the management of Nigeria’s monetary policies, but he should not be made a scapegoat, there is every possibility that the erstwhile central bank governor did not act without presidential authorisation. If he is found liable of any crime, he should be prosecuted.”