Buhari, Jonathan Hold Closed-door Meeting

Buhari, Jonathan Hold Closed-door Meeting

10 Aug 20i5

Former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhamadu Buhari

• Anti-corruption agencies do not take instructions from me, president replies PDP Senate caucus
Tobi Soniyi in Abuja    

Former President Goodluck Jonathan last Thursday met with President Muhamadu Buhari behind closed doors.

The meeting took place inside the president’s official residence, sources have confirmed.

Buhari also met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo last Friday.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, confirmed the two meetings.

Details of discussions at the Thursday meeting were however not available.
However, a source close to Obasanjo said the former president met with Buhari to encourage him.

Meanwhile, the presidency has faulted claims by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senate caucus that the present administration was being selective and partisan in its prosecution of the war against corruption.
A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, said the Buhari administration would not discriminate against individuals or groups in the performance of its duties and that favours or patronage would not be dispensed on the basis of votes.

The statement said that the allegation by the senators was false, baseless and totally unjustifiable.

The presidency also said that the allegation that the Department of State Services (DSS) was being used to influence election petition tribunals was also baseless.

It said that the powers of the SSS are spelt out in the constitution, adding: “Any individual or group of individuals who think that their legitimate political and civil rights are infringed upon by the DSS or any institution is advised to seek protection and redress under our constitution and laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria instead of resorting to baseless allegations against the Buhari administration.”

The statement said the wild allegation of bias and partisanship in the fight against corruption shouldn’t have come from respected and distinguished members of the Senate, noting that the allegation of selective prosecution belonged to the past.

“That claim belongs to the past and not the present. Public officials and other leaders accused of corruption by relevant agencies should plead their innocence, not malice.

“For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, we affirm that having made his zero tolerance for corruption clear to all and sundry, President Buhari does not micro-manage or interfere in the daily work of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies,” Shehu said in the statement.

He recalled that the president's unwavering stance was that whosoever was charged with corruption should face the law irrespective of whether they are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), PDP, or any other political party.

“As far as the president is concerned, corruption has no political party, no religion and no ethnic group,” he added.

The presidency also reminded the PDP Senate caucus and all Nigerians that right from 2003 when Buhari started campaigning for the presidency, he consistently promised to do his best to curb corruption in the country.
“The president remains wholly committed to fulfilling that promise and will not be deterred from the relentless prosecution of the war against corruption because he remains convinced that, as he has said: ‘unless Nigeria kills corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria’.

“The claim by the PDP Senate caucus that President Buhari and his administration are meddling in election petition cases through the DSS is also untrue.

“The duties of the DSS and other security agencies are clearly spelt out in the laws establishing them. The federal government led by President Buhari does not give them instructions regarding their daily operations.