Reno Omokri, former aide of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has asked Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo if he is still a pastor.
Accusing Osinbajo of spreading lies against Jonathan, Omokri taunted the nation’s number two citizen, saying “all liars shall have their place in the lake which burneth with fire and brimestone”.
He alleged that the vice-president attacked Jonathan in Lagos while speaking at ‘Greater Nigeria Pastors Conference’. The programme took place on Friday.
Omokri quoted Osinbajo as saying within two weeks, Jonathan allegedly gave out N100 billion and $295 million for security in the buildup to the 2015 election.
Denying this, Omokri said Osinabjo was attempting to divert the attention of Nigerians from the scandal of Abdulrasheed Maina.
The reinstatement of Maina, former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms (PTFPR), into the civil service, years after he fled the country over corruption allegations, had sparked a controversy.
President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered Maina’s sack and demanded a probe but not much has been heard about the issue since then, making critics to assume that the matter has been ignored.
“On this recent allegation by the Vice-President, not only has the Vice-President again lied, he is doing so to divert attention from the Maina scandal in which the administration in which he serves, by the testimony of the Maina Family, invited Abdulrasheed Maina, the infamous alleged pension thief, back into the country, reinstated him, promoted him and deployed him as Director of Human Resources in the ministry of Internal affairs,” Omokri said.
“When they were found out, the Presidency resorted to its favourite past time of blame game by preposterously accusing former President Jonathan of somehow magically being the brain behind Maina’s return. This is even as the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had already revealed that he “acted in the public’s interest” in initiating the process for Maina’s return.”
Omokri asked the current administration to speak allegations contained in the letter Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, wrote to Buhari about Maikanti Baru, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“There is also the $25 billion Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation scam which is the biggest scam ever in the history of Nigeria since 1914 to date,” he said.
“Finally, Nigerians want to know the truth about the Babachir Lawal probe which has been concluded and handed over to the President many months ago but of which no action has been taken.
“Nigerians want to hear the truth about these scandals and not tired lies about looted funds that keep being recycled without proof.
“It is not too late for the Vice President to turn a new leaf and begin to apologize to Nigerians for the three million jobs a year he and his boss promised, but ended up losing 4.5 million jobs in their first two years according to the Nigerian Bureau of statistics.
If Vice President Osinbajo is looking for who to blame for the present sorry state of the Nigerian economy, he should buy a mirror.”
Thecable