A coalition of civil society organisations has described as baseless the allegations linking the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, to an N80 billion fraud scandal.
According to the CSOs, the allegation is entirely unfounded, devoid of credible evidence, and seemingly driven by malicious motives.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the coalition, consisting of the National Publicity Secretary; Conscience Nigeria; Policy Advocacy and Integrity Nigeria; Sustainable Initiatives for Nurturing Growth; Northern Patriotic Front; Adopt A Goal For Development; Empowerment For Unemployed Youth Initiative; Sustainable Peace Initiative; Guardians of Democracy and Development Initiative, and Rising Up For A United Nigeria,
The CSOs described a statement against Akume, allegedly by a faction of the Afenifere group, as repugnant, prejudicial, and in bad taste.
They said the statement was issued to intimidate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is investigating the alleged fraud.
They said, “The said publication, in an attempt to intimidate and stampede the EFCC, threatened the EFCC with a seven-day ultimatum and a nationwide protest. For the avoidance of doubt, the accused person, Mr. Uchi, is not an appointee of Mr. President, or on the payroll of the SGF, nor does he work in the office of the SGF, or is related to the SGF, beyond being an opportunistic hanger-on around who specialises in name-dropping, as against the claims in their statement.
“It is also on record and noteworthy that the investigation being carried out by the EFCC is at the instance of His Excellency, Senator (Dr.) George Akume, after noticing the extravagant lifestyle of Mr. Uchi, and has since publicly distanced himself from the suspect. The surreptitious coercive attempt by the factional Afenifere group to manipulate the EFCC’s findings or incite public opinion to cast aspersion on the character and person of the SGF with the intent to sway public opinion against him is a direct affront, discriminatory, offensive, obnoxious, distasteful, and disrespectful.”
The coalition condemned the call by the Afenifere group for the suspension of Akume from office and the threat to call for a nationwide protest.
It vowed to resist any attempt by the factional Afenifere group and their cohorts, or any other group or individuals, irrespective of any guise or shade, “to denigrate, smear, or deride any of our leaders.”
“This coalition does not support, encourage, or aid any act of corruption or corrupt practices from any quarters, but will vehemently resist any attempt to coercively or manipulatively slander, smear, or surreptitiously assert our leaders with unprofessional conduct.
“We call for a thorough, transparent investigation into these allegations, based on concrete evidence and guided by the principles of fairness and justice. We also urge the public to remain cautious of unfounded allegations and to demand evidence-based reporting,” the coalition said.
