MURIC Blasts FG over N40m Paid to an Ex-President for Vehicle

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Monday, January 15th, 2018

Photo: Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha

LAGOS, NIGERIA (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A Non-Governmental Organization NGO Muslim Rights Concern MURIC has faulted the decision to give the sum of N40 million to a former President, instead of buying vehicles for him as prescribed by law.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, made the disclosure last week Thursday.

MURIC in a statement issued Monday by its Director Prof. Ishaq Lakin Akintola denounced the decision and described it as ”heartless, anti-people and capitalist-driven.

Prof. Akintola alleged that the Nigerian system ”makes the rich richer and the poor poorer”.

”How decent are we as a people if thousands of retirees are denied their benefits for years but we proudly present huge amounts of money to former presidents and ex-heads of state? Where is our humanity if a whopping N40 million is paid to an ex-president who arrogated all the honey and milk in the land to himself while in office but we still pay a paltry N18,000 as minimum wage to workers who grease the machines of our economy?” the statement asked.

”This socio-economic imbalance emboldens criminals, frustrates the youth and diminishes patriotism. Worse still, it slows down the war against corruption because the Federal Government (FG) alone cannot fight corruption. It needs the people to join the fight. But how will an overworked, underpaid, impoverished and oppressed people who are living witnesses to the waste of our common wealth willingly join the fight?

”The truth is that perhaps no present ex-president or former head of state lives in penury as at today. We can only think of just one probability and we will prefer to keep his identity private for obvious reasons. Our ex-presidents are not in dire need of cars from FG. Majority of them are in palatial mansions on hilltops in choice locations all over the country” the group alleged.

The organization argued that the social order was unacceptable to it, demanding that such super-rich ex-presidents should be giving to the poor masses, not sucking from our blood again.

Prof. Akintola warned President Muhammadu Buhari not to abandon poor Nigerians or to succumb to blackmail from ”greedy and selfish citizens but to remain focused in his determination to rid Nigeria of wasteful spending”.