Prosecute Obasanjo And Others Involved In Nigeria's Privatization Scandal,' Falana Urges Federal Government

Femi Falana

Civil rights attorney, Femi Falana, has called on the Nigerian government to immediately commence the prosecution of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, his deputy and cronies involved in the criminal disposal of national assets.
He was speaking to SaharaReporters yesterday at the conclusion of the hearing of the ad hoc Senate committee which is probing the privatisation and commercialization of government businesses since 1999.
Giving the example of the Delta Steel Company in Aladja Delta State, Falana said  that the company was built with $3.2 billion by the Nigerian government, roughly translating to N480 billion, but was sold to a company believed to be fronting for Obasanjo for N7.5 billion ($120 million)
He further called for the retrieval of the 128 nationally owned companies "privatized" by the Obasanjo regime to the federal government of Nigeria.
In his testimony, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, a former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), told the committee that Obasanjo and then Vice President Atiku Abubakar, contacted him several times when he was DG to try to influence the sale of government companies to their cronies.
President Jonathan continues to say he will battle corruption, but his critics point at revelations such as those at the Senate hearing as evidence that he is insincere.
 

By SaharaReporters, New York