Former federal lawmaker Shehu Sani has criticized President Bola Tinubu for his refusal to investigate military spending under his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, argued that Tinubu’s stance contradicted his ongoing probe into the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under suspended apex bank governor Godwin Emefiele.
During a media chat on Monday, Tinubu stated that he was not interested in scrutinizing military expenditures under Buhari. Responding on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Tuesday, Sani described this approach as effectively “rewarding larceny and corruption.”
“When you find yourself in this position, especially with a nation facing these critical issues like ours, you still have to go backwards and see how public funds that were looted have been recovered, and I think we have been doing that with what has happened in the CBN the last time.
“But when one of the panellists questioned him (Tinubu) about the looting, the mismanagement of security and defence forces under the Buhari administration, which he needs to probe, I think he made it clear that he is more interested in moving forward than moving backwards. It’s a bit contradictory; you can move backwards in CBN but not in security.
“I believe that what should have been is that if he is being provided with evidence showing clear corruption cases, he would move to recover public funds. That is what the answer was supposed to be.
“If you say that whatever happened in the past has gone, it is more like rewarding larceny, which he has done by saying he is not going back.”
Sani also called for holding the President accountable for his policies and the performance of his cabinet members, emphasizing the significance of leadership responsibility: “He (Tinubu) should be held responsible for what has happened under his government. He has economic reforms. He has started; there are lots of pains, Nigerians are suffering, but it is a fact all over the world and in history: economic reforms have never been popular with the citizens.”
Sani’s remarks come amid ongoing debates about transparency and accountability in governance, especially in addressing past mismanagement of public funds.
