By Dansu Peter
The group said the president has again confirmed his commitment to rid the nation of corruption by entrusting a youth to lead the war.
In a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Kolawole Emmanuel, on Wednesday, the pro-democracy group said that Bawa is tailormade for the job, assuring that as tsar, he will revamp the anti-corruption agency.
The statement further noted that the rush with which looters and wailers set out to taint the nominee’s image even before screening by the Senate is a confirmation that Mr President got his act right as always.
The group, however, urged Nigerians to disregard the fake news promoted by Peoples Gazette, urging them to inoculate themselves against the series of other lies that those behind this campaign of calumny will attempt to use to mislead the nation in the days ahead until the Senate confirms the nominee.
While congratulating Bawa on his nomination, the PFN assured him that "Nigerians, particularly the youth whose future corruption threatens, are with him".
Read the full statement below:
The Patriotic Front of Nigeria (PFN) commends President Muhammadu Buhari for strengthening the anti-corruption war with the nomination of Abdulrasheed Bawa as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), subject to confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This appointment has confirmed that Mr President never for a moment shifted his focus from ridding Nigeria of the cankerworm of corruption, which has been the greatest threat to Nigeria’s march to greatness and the root cause of the other problems besetting the country.
Bawa’s profile as an anti-corruption investigator showed that he had consistently shown mettle for the role that has now been thrust upon him while his last posting as a Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent as the head of the Lagos zonal office of the EFCC testify to the revamp coming to the anti-graft agency.
We, therefore, see President Buhari’s choice of Bawa as EFCC Chairman as another commendable feat meant to impact the younger generation and take the anti-corruption war to the next level. It showed Mr President’s responsiveness to the demand that the younger generations in the country should be allowed to lead.
The rush with which looters and wailers have set out to taint the nominee’s image even before the Senate has properly screened and confirmed him is confirmation that Mr President got his act right as always. This haste to disparage Mr President’s appointments has become customary for the enemies of Nigeria who persistently try to compromise anyone they see as an asset to Mr President success in fighting corruption.
We find it reassuring that the EFCC has come out as an institution to debunk the fake news that was deployed against Bawa upon the announcement of his nomination. The lie that the nominee sold off impounded trucks to cronies became laughable the moment the EFCC was able to swiftly establish that Bawa was no longer at the Port-Harcourt office of the Commission as at the time the forfeited truck was auctioned and that even if he was still the head of that office a specialized department of the EFCC was responsible for managing impounded or forfeited assets.
It is of note that Peoples Gazette, which published the fake news, has lately been at the forefront of a malicious campaign to malign public office holders that are positively contributing to the success of President Buhari’s government. It was therefore not surprising that the publication attempted to tarnish Bawa’s reputation with an alleged crime for which the actual culprits have been sanctioned.
We urge Nigerians to disregard the fake news being promoted by Peoples Gazette while seeking out correct facts to inoculate themselves against the series of other lies that those behind this campaign of calumny will attempt to use to mislead the nation in the days ahead until the Senate confirms the nominee. Other platforms will be deployed to strengthen the unfolding disinformation and misinformation campaign that is meant to divert attention from the desperate attempts by looters to set the country back.
PFN remains grateful to President Buhari for the consistent manner in which he has resisted the pressure from looters and wailers that want him to abandon the war on corruption. They desire to return to the regime of business as usual, when they were able to corner the commonwealth for personal gains without anyone challenging them. We are confident that such an era is past and can never again return to Nigeria with a young person like Bawa set to entrench an anti-corruption legacy that has sight in the future.
As we congratulate Bawa on his nomination, we assure him that Nigerians, particularly the youth whose future corruption threatens, are with him and he should not be swayed by the antics of those that are already in dread of the bite he is bringing to the anti-corruption war.
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