Yar’Adua’s revelation justifies probe of Obasanjo’s govt - AC

Adewale Ajayi, Lagos - 16.01.2008

Action Congress (AC) on Tuesday said revelations made by President Umaru Yar’Adua that the administration of his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, spent $10 billion on the power sector in seven years without a commensurate result further justified the need for the probe of the Obasanjo’s administration.

The party, in a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, expressed shock over the revelations that such an “unprecedented wastage of public funds was expended by the administration that shouted itself hoarse on due process, probity, anti-corruption and financial discipline. “

The party also said it was worried that the President, “who announced the colossal waste of resources on the power sector, has been playing hide and seek on whether or not to investigate the Obasanjo years (1999-2007) despite the huge resources the former government ploughed into the various areas, including power, roads and refineries.”

AC also wondered what Obasanjo administration did with $10 billion, an amount that “represents about half of this year’s federal budget, when his government left the power sector worse than it met it in 1999.

“Could it have been that part of the money was spent on the ill-fated third term campaign? Is the wastage as a result of the emerging phantom contracts awarded in the power sector to firms partly owned by Obasanjo’s first daughter, Iyabo? Or was the money spent on Obasanjo’s re-election in 2003 and the subsequent installation of his puppet successor in 2007?”