Yochuku Ofoka Yobolisa, Editor in Chief
The saying that the law is no respecter of persons may be played out this time around when the nation’s anti-graft agency grabs the Czar of All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has concluded arrangement to investigate the APC chieftain and former governor of Lagos State over the mission of some bullion vans spotted entering his premises in 2015.
Over the years, Senator Tinubu has towered above the law of the land like a colossus while many Nigerians wondered wearily if the government will ever muster enough courage to call him to questioning. But the ice was broken with the emergence of Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, the new helmsman of the commission. Acting swiftly after assuming office, Bawa who had followed up on Tinubu’s case as head of the Lagos zonal office decided to wrap up the case by requesting for Bola Tinubu’s asset declaration document from the Code of Conduct Bureau which the office failed to tender since November 2020.
The newspaperman sampled man-in-street opinions of some residents of Abuja, the nation’s capital over Senator Tinubu’s ordeal, and discovered that while some Nigerians think it is a welcome step in President Buhari’s strides towards stemming official corruption, others think the move is ill-timed and a plot to scuttle the politician’s presidential ambition.
Michael Eze, a dealer in electrical materials at the Gudu, Abuja Market said, “Why did the EFCC wait till now before making a move to probe Tinubu over an issue they discovered since 2015? It is vindictive.”
Mr Taiwo Alabi, a printer said, “It serves Tinubu right. He cannot be above the law that governs everybody.”
Following a petition written by a whistleblower to the Commission requiring the anti-graft agency to investigate accordingly why bullion vans should be seen in the home of the APC chief, the Commission made an application to the CCB requesting the source of the money allegedly found in the bullion vans.
It should be recalled that the Commission has always been interested in knowing how the former Lagos governor managed the affairs of the state in the eight years he ruled as governor.
