A former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Segun Showunmi, has advised that to effectively hold political office holders accountable, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, must probe them for abuse of office rather than fraud.
Showunmi opined that this would be much easier to prove and would serve as a visible warning to others who would not want to go to jail.
The PDP chieftain who gave the advice while speaking to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, asserted that because Nigerian leaders hardly go to jail, or even finish their conviction, worse leaders continue to emerge in the country.
Showunmi said, “Instead of EFCC to carry them for fraud and all of that, I prefer EFCC takes them in for abuse of office. Abuse of office is easier to prove, so if you pack them in dozens like sardines and throw them in prison for ten years, I’m not sure the next set of leaders would not be coming there to do the same. I’m not sure their intentions is to go to jail.”
He lamented that most leaders do not have the culture of doing the right things, and harped on the need for commensurate punishment at the end of the line.
“The point I’m making is that the reason why we are needing so many laws, rules – why we need EFCC, still need ICPC, Nigerian Police – all these things is just simply because our people don’t have the culture of doing the right thing. And the reason why the culture of not doing the right thing is pervasive is because they don’t see the consequence.
“ That’s why you see that I’ve been trying to beg that they should now begin to increase consequences so that for the amount of power we give you and everybody accepts that power and you lord it over us, and we are begging the citizens to endure so that your policies can go, then it must come with a commensurate punishment at the end of the line.
“Can somebody be a governor in China and they will catch him with those things they are catching people with here? Can you be a mayor in China, then you go and buy Rolls Royce? You know they are going to cut off your head.
“ Even if you wish to have Rolls Royce you know that that position does not give you that privilege. You can’t be sitting in government office, be living large and acting as if the only right you have to money is that you are in government,” the PDP chieftain added.
