4 'Untouchable' personalities in President Buhari's government

One year after President Muhammadu Buhari took over power from his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, the determination of the party to carry on with this fight seems to have gone down.

Political analysts have described the anti-corruption fight as lopsided focusing on members of the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The probe on the party's campaign fund had the likes of the national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, Femi Fani-Kayode, Nenadi Usman spend days in prison.

The campaign fund was said to have been gotten from the $2.1billion through the office of the National Security Adviser under the watch of Colonel Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser.

Despite allegations of corruption leveled against some personalities in the APC, none of them have been probed (at least not publicly). The party has failed to probe its own campaign fund.

Failure of president to release the name of looters also points to the fact that there may be members of his cabinet on the highly anticipated list. In defence of the president's action, his special adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said the decision not to reveal the names was in the nation's best interest.

Former Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amechi, a close ally of the president have been accused of misappropriating £338 million from sale of state assets with £140m of state funds diverted into Buhari's presidential campaign bid. Most Nigerians were shocked to find his name on the list of ministerial nominees submitted to the National Assembly by the president.

Since his appointment as the Minister of Transport, he has failed to draw out a clear road map for the ministry. His only achievement so far has been the launch of the Abuja-Kaduna rail; a project undertaken by the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

When Kayode Fayemi failed to make his re-election bid in Ekiti state, it was reported that he had left the state in huge debts with a backlog of unpaid salaries. The state government alleged that Fayemi had contributed the sum of 1.5 billion to President Buhari's campaign bid. He has however denied the claim.

The Union had reported that Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai had declared assets worth 90 billion with the Code of Conduct Bureau. According to the newspaper Mallam el-Rufai had acquired about 40 mansions mostly in Nigeria's capital city while he served as the FCT minister. The governor however threatened to take legal actions against the news medium.

It would be recalled that while Mallam el-Rufai served as the FCT minister, his tenure was characterised by the demolition of "illegal structures." Surprisingly, over 80% of those lands were reallocated to some individuals almost immediately.

The Kaduna state governor was a close ally of President Buhari during the 2015 election campaign.

Sahara Reporters recently accused Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, bought two houses in Dubai, worth $1.5million. This revelation got most Nigerians thinking possible that a single individual could afford to buy two landed properties worth $1.5 billion in the United Arab Emirate from personal savings? The COAS in swift reaction said he had bought the Dubai property from personal savings.

He also described the allegation as handiwork of cyber terrorists who have been defeated on the land.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, described the allegations as baseless, stating that it is another campaign of calumny against Buratai and his family by some unscrupulous elements.

Over the years, there has been agitation for an improvement in the welfare package of officers and men of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies.

The call by prominent Nigerians for a probe on the Army Chief may have fallen on deaf ears. The Minister of Defence, Brig. Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali (retd) in a reaction said the report was calculated effort to distract the military from its war against insurgency.

The federal government immediately cleared the COAS of purchasing the Dubai property with pubic funds without. This was contained in a statement published on PR Nigeria.

Why has the federal government not ordered a probe into the matter as in the case of others. Are some people above the law?

Some political analyst have described the trial of the Senate President at the Code of Conduct Tribunal as an attempt by the government to "balance the equation." The APC National Chairman, John Oyegun was quoted to have said that has revealed that the possible removal Saraki, might be a sacrificial change.

Oyegun recently said that it was difficult to accept the emergence of a PDP member - Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President. Could this be responsible for the forgery case instituted by the federal government against the Senate leaders and two others?

Should the fight against corruption be sectional and bias? Are some Nigerians more Nigerian than others? Are APC members saints?

The federal government may have to review its anti-graft plan as any anti-corruption drive that is focused on a selected few is only headed for the rocks.