Senator Buruji Kashamu, representing Ogun East Senatorial District,
has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to speed
up the alleged corruption trial of ex-Governor of Ogun State, Otunba
Gbenga Daniel.
Both Gbenga and Kashamu are contending for the chairmanship stool of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Kashamu, who described the PDP Chairmanship ambition of Daniel as “a
mockery of democracy and assault on the anti-corruption war”, faulted
the former governor for attacking the anti-corruption drive of the
present administration during his formal declaration to contest for
chairman of the opposition party last Wednesday.
The senator, in a statement, urged the Ogun State government and the
and EFCC to expedite action on Daniel’s alleged corruption case since he
was now making a jest of the anti-corruption war.
The statement reads, “Daniel’s speech at his declaration for the PDP
National Chairmanship race was a compendium of mockery of our democracy
and direct assault on the anti-corruptiion war. In that speech, there
was nothing OGD didn’t call himself whereas he is actually the exact
opposite of all these attributes.
“He insultingly eulogised the undemocratic past of which he was
eminently involved; when our elections were characterised by shameless
rigging, as if current efforts and legislations to ensure free and fair
elections are unworthy.”
“Furthermore, he sought to trivialise his ongoing EFCC case where he
is truly being accused of converting Judge’s quarters into his private
mansion, converting government land and other innocent people’s land
acquired fraudulently under the pretence of public use, into his
commercial hotel project, etc, etc and sundry corruption allegations and
visible abuse of office. He has indeed by this, thrown an open
challenge at the EFCC and by extension, the Federal government.”
He added “I implore the Federal government and particularly Ogun
State, to show more interests in the OGD -EFCC affairs; more so now that
prosecuting witnesses are being scared off from appearing in court.
This unholy arrangement has already emboldened OGD as capable of
weakening the chances of his conviction.
“Candidly, this current pretensions and public bravado of a
chairmanship contest by OGD is truly aimed at turning his corruption
cases and sundry pending criminal assaults and killing allegations into
cases of political victimisation and assault on the opposition.
“As much as one calls on the government to take needed necessary
actions by refusing to be cheaply blackmailed; more importantly, the
leaders of PDP need to ensure that our party and indeed, all of us, are
unwittingly not dragged into an avoidable, disgraceful and infamously
criminal corruption saga.”