For accepting a donation of a 2,500 seating capacity church in his hometown, Otuoke, Bayelsa State from a construction company, Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited, the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, should be impeached, so says the Action Congress of Nigeria.
The ACN in a statement on Tuesday, said that the National Assembly should commence impeachment against Jonathan having admitted openly that he solicited the gift from Gitto.
The party said the open acceptance amounted to Jonathan having solicited a bribe, which it said is in violation of the Constitution he swore to uphold.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said: “To know the gravity of the President’s self admission of soliciting the church ‘gift’ from the Managing Director of Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited, one needs to understand Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Public officers embodied in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act (CAP C15) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“The Act states: ‘A public officer shall not ask for or accept any property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties. For the purposes of subsection (1) of this subsection, the receipt by a public officer of any gifts or benefits from commercial firms, business enterprises or persons who have contracts with the Government shall be presumed to have been received in contravention…unless the contrary is proved’.”
The ACN said by his improper and unfortunate action, the President has also undermined the country’s fight against corruption and put Nigeria’s democracy in jeopardy, hence must not be allowed to get away with such an egregious act, adding: “Gitto has obtained billions of contracts from the Nigerian government, amid reported allegations in the media that it has not executed such contracts well. How can the federal government hold the company to account, when it (firm) has obtained an ‘insurance cover’ by bribing the President? Is this not why the country’s anti-corruption efforts have not achieved anything? Can the EFCC and the ICPC honestly and boldly fight corruption when the President is knee-deep in the mud of corruption?”
The party said by openly and gleefully saying, at the inauguration of the church at his Otuoke hometown, that “the managing director of Gitto made him a promise to build and donate the church to Otuoke community after he (the President) had complained of the aging structure of his church,” the President has demonstrated that he is either not conversant with the Constitution he swore to uphold or thinks very little of the laws of the land.
“Either way, he should be held accountable for his deeds,” the party said.
The ACN said it would amount to wishful thinking to expect the country’s anti-corruption agencies to probe Jonathan’s admission of soliciting and receiving bribery, hence the call on the National Assembly to handle the issue.
The party warned that ongoing attempts to twist the facts and make it seem as if the President did not solicit the bribe will not work, as Nigerians are too smart to be hoodwinked.
The statement added: “If the President and his supporters deny that he indeed solicited the bribe – as he admitted at the inauguration of the church – we challenge the Presidency to play – on national radio and television – the unedited audio and video recording of his speech at the occasion for all Nigerians to hear and see. Experts must also be called in to verify that the tape has not been tampered with in any way.”
It is not only the ACN that has criticised Jonathan for accepting the gift from Gitto.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the donation, demanding a “thorough, transparent and effective investigation.”
SERAP said: “We are seriously concerned that given the huge sum of money involved and the timing of the church building ‘gift’, the acts may amount to a bribe to the government by a construction company that has sought and obtained huge contracts from the federal government.”