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CNPP Secretary General Willy Ezugwu
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has accused the Federal Government of plotting to shield the real owner of the sums of $43,449, 947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 (about N13.3 billion) recently recovered from an Ikoyi apartment in Lagos State. It called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prove to Nigerians that its activities are not lopsided by naming and prosecuting the true owner of the money.
The umbrella organisation of all political parties and associations in the country warned that it would mobilise its members, well-meaning Nigerians, and civil society groups “to resist any cover-up of the real owner of the stashed cash,” dismissing the claims that the money belongs to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
CNPP in a statement on Saturday signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, maintained that if it was found that the money and the apartment truly belonged to the former governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transport, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, the cash should be returned to the River State treasury.
The statement said: “We’re worried that the current anti-graft war is becoming a show as each day passes. It is more worrisome when you begin to hear that a government security agency, the NIA, which is not a revenue generating organ of the federal government, is laying claim to the recovered.
“The NIA’s angle to the controversy is nothing but a deliberate plot by the Federal Government to cover up the true identity of the looter.
“How can the NIA claim to own N13 billion cash stashed in a private residential apartment; NIA has no office in Lagos?”
“The war against corruption is now being exposed for what it truly is on daily basis, a lopsided fight against perceived enemies of the present administration, while all members of the ruling party are shielded from prosecution.
“The case of the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) is still fresh in our minds, how President Muhammadu Buhari quickly absorbed him of any wrong doing even before any investigation was carried.
“The Minister of Transport has been at the centre of several financial scandals which were never investigated. But any plot to cover up the owner of the Ikoyi apartment loot will be strongly resisted, with the CNPP leading the struggle. Enough is enough.”
