There is no respite for the embattled national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole over his recent interrogation by the Department of State Services, (DSS).
Despite his grandstand that his appearance at the DSS headquarters was a normal invitation, fresh facts have emerged that the security agency actually established a case of financial heist against the APC national chairman in his handling of the party primaries.
A party source disclosed that the Director- General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi has actually submitted his report on the startling findings of his agency to the Presidency.
This is coming on the heels of agitation for the investigation and removal of the party national chairman. A group, Coalition for New Nigeria, (CNN) on Wednesday submitted a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practises and other related offences Commission, (ICPC) demanding for the trial of Comrade Oshiomhole.
A former deputy national publicity secretary of the party, who had since defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, Comrade Timi Frank, on Thursday joined the league of those pushing for the APC national chairman.
Frank, in a statement, threatened to publish the names and amounts allegedly paid to lobby the APC National Chairman to clear aspirants and substitute the names of duly elected candidates with the aspirants that lost out.
He equally corroborated claim that the DSS has since presented its report and findings against Oshiomhole to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I dare say that this singular act of refusing to order the prosecution of Oshiomhole over sundry acts of bribery and corruption he committed as contained in the DSS report, President Buhari has shown that his APC-led administration is a stinking house of corruption.
“We are in the know that President Buhari has received the DSS report on Adams Oshiomhole and Nigerians are patiently waiting for the action or inaction of his government because this is an administration that has claimed fighting corruption as an achievement.
“In the history of party administration in Nigeria, no party chairman has been accused of collecting the jaw-breaking amount of money allegedly collected within a short period in office like Comrade Oshiomhole has allegedly done.
“Instead of Oshiomhole to clear his name, he has taken to diversionary path asking the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, to resign. Nigerians are not gullible. We shall wait to see how the acclaimed anti-corruption regime will act on this particular issue.
“This same Oshiomhole has been attacking the Senate President, calling on him to resign on moral ground, can Oshiomhole now step aside while the investigation into his financial malfeasance is ongoing to justify his much talked about morality?”
But Oshiomhole in a statement accused those accusing him of bribery to provide the evidence.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Simon Ebegbulem, the APC national chairman asked the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to provide evidence of inducement.
He said: ” It is sad that Saraki, who just woke up from slumber occasioned by his crushing defeat at the Port Harcourt presidential primary election of his party, could degenerate to such a low level.
“It is equally sad, but not unexpected, that Saraki, who is politically drowning, would make such libellous comments against the national chairman of the APC. And I challenge Saraki to mention one name of an aspirant that gave money to the National Chairman or we file a legal action against him.
“Whereas the basis on which he made those comments was tenuous and unjustifiable, it is on record that Saraki has been in the eye of investigations by the EFCC and the ICPC for sundry cases of corruption.
“That is the same man that has taken it upon himself to question Comrade Oshiomhole’s credibility.
“We challenge him to mention one person who has claimed that he gave money to Oshiomhole to influence him and the decision of the party’s national working committee (NWC) in the just-concluded primary elections.
‘We insist that Saraki with his kind of prebendal politics is nothing but a monumental disgrace to the nation’s democracy.”
