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| Edwin Clark |
Edwin Clark, Ijaw leader
and staunch ally of former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday declared
said the former president lacked the political will to fight corruption. He also said he was
no longer a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and would
not join the All Progressives Congress (APC), but would function as an
elder statesman.
Clark
also declared support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s dual war on corruption
and terror while receiving members of the Think Nigeria First Initiative
(TNFI) in Abuja.
TheCable
report continues:
“Jonathan
didn’t have the political will to fight corruption. He’s too much of a
gentleman. Drivers of yesterday were living in palatial buildings now under his
government. In advanced countries, when you are living above your means, people
query you. That’s not so in Nigeria. Former governors and lawmakers are now
asking for immunity,” he said.
“Jonathan
meant well for this country, but the will power to fight corruption was not
there.
“In
an ideal society, when a man who earns 20,000 as his monthly salary and all of
a sudden he acquire something that is worth ₦100,000, he should be
questioned, but here in Nigeria, immunity has covered those that should be
questioned. That is not the kind of country that we want. Being a
gentleman is not enough to govern this country.”
According
to a statement by PRNigeria, Clark condemned the activities of the insurgent
group, saying: “Boko Haram is a problem for all of us Nigerians and we
must all fight it together”.
On
corruption, Clark declared: “The government has the right to investigate,
prosecute and jail corrupt people whether they are Ijaw, Hausa, Fulani or Igbo…
corruption is a monster that must be fought.
“Politicians
are mostly the most corrupt people in Nigeria. That is why every governor wants
to become a senator so that he will continue to enjoy immunity from probe and
prosecution for corrupt practices.”
He
also implored the president to implement the good programmes initiated by the
past administration, adding that “it is not everything done by your opponent
that is bad. Select the good ones and implement them and ignore the bad ones.”
Regarding quitting
the PDP, Clark said: “I no longer belong to any political party. I am no more
in PDP and won’t move to APC. As I almost clock my 90th birthday I will rather
continue to advocate for better, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria and die
gracefully on Nigerian soil.”
While
thanking the TNFI for their courtesy visit, Clark declared his support and
encouraged the initiative to keep thinking Nigeria first, ahead of any
personal, ethnic or political sentiment.
In
his remarks, the director-general of the TNFI, Abubakr Tsani ,said the group
was nonpartisan, non-religious, non-ethnic support organisation for just
causes.
He said it was conceived to
midwife sincere channels of reconciling Nigerians and Nigerian state with a
view to protect strategic national values against inadvertent distortion of our
values.
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