President
Muhammadu Buhari has not cleared the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal, of allegations of corruption
made against him by the Senate, a top Presidency official said last
night. The source told our correspondent that Buhari’s letter to the
Senate rejecting its recommendation to remove and prosecute the SGF is
not an indication of the president’s attitude or ultimate decision on
the substantive allegations against Lawal.
The source, who spoke
on condition of anonymity, clarified that Buhari, in his letter,
explained why he could not accede to the request by the Senate based on
the circumstances, clearly leaving open the conclusion of the matter by
other means.
A committee of the Senate chaired by Senator Shehu
Sani (APC, Kaduna) had accused Babachir of misappropriating funds meant
for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the northeast. The source
stated that Buhari said he could not accede to the recommendation of
the Senate on grounds of lack of fair hearing and that the resolution
was signed by a minority of the Senate panel and that the panel report
itself was an interim report.
According to the source, this does
not mean that President Buhari is done with the investigation of the
said allegations or that he has condoned such alleged corrupt actions by
the SGF.
The source explained: “What this means is that the
president wants to be able to handle the matter on his own terms, based
purely on proper adherence to extant public service rules and procedures
relating to abuse of office by public officers.
“If he is going
to discipline his own appointee, he would rather do it properly, not
railroaded. No one should be in doubt of the resolve of Mr. President to
sustain his long-held reputation for integrity and his zero-level
tolerance for corruption. But things must be done properly, and seen to
be so. And that is what the president is keen on ensuring.”
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