Former Anambra State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Vice Presidential Candidate in the 2019 Polls, Peter Obi, is engulfed in crisis over allegation of corruption, fraud in his foreign business activities by Pandora Papers, reveals PREMIUM TIMES.
PREMIUM TIMES in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ, a non-profit newsroom and network of Journalists centered in Washington DC, United States of America tagged Pandora Papers had revealed how former Governor Obi, set up companies using fronts and hiding it from the public and Government in Nigeria. It laid bare a global entanglement of political power and secretive offshore finances and dealings.
According to the report, the former Governor is involved in a number of dealings which comprises money laundering and the establishment of companies with fronts in order to avoid detection by Nigerian authorities.
However, Human Rights Group, Nigerians For Justice, NFJ, has alleged that the allegation on Obi is a witch hunt against his person, political aspiration and an “obvious sponsored inquest”.
In a statement issued by the Group on Monday, 4th October, 2021, in Asaba, Delta State capital, it alleged that Online News Platform, PREMIUM TIMES report on Obi’s foreign business activities published earlier today was targeted at creating a wrong impression about Obi and a brazen plot to tarnish his political image.
Chairman of the Group, Francis Ezeoka, accused PREMIUM TIMES of bad faith and of doing a hatchet job, “lacking in substance” and “purity of motive.”
The Group alleged that some desperate political forces, intimidated and afraid of the rising political profile of Obi as the 2023 Presidential Election draws closer, are bent on tarnishing and rubbishing his political will and prowess.
NFJ said that the PREMIUM TIMES shot itself on the foot by betraying its motive in the first paragraph by passing judgement, thus betraying the fact that they were on a sponsored mission targeted at tarnishing Obi’s reputation.
The Group said that Nigerians are highly
intelligent and also discerning people who would not fall for the bait of the news medium that is on a sponsored mission to discredit Obi, and that it is also confident that Nigerians would ask PREMIUM TIMES the ultimate questions: “Did you trace any missing Government money to any company Obi has real or imaginary interest? Is any public money missing in any public establishment Obi has had contact with, such as Anambra State, Security and Exchange Commission?”
Ezeoka also queried the nexus between Obi’s numerous speeches the report referred to and the actual issue the news medium pretended to be investigating. However, dismissing the report as failing short of expectations by trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
The Group said: “There is nothing in PREMIUM TIMES’ investigations or report that impeaches Obi’s integrity. It provides no proof of corruption by Obi but merely alleges failure to declare his foreign assets.
“To prove that he has nothing to hide, we learnt that Obi made himself available to PREMIUM TIMES and honestly answered all their questions. Apparently disappointed that they could not establish a case of corruption against him, the newspaper resorted to editorialising and playing the prosecutor contrary to the journalism tenet of fair reporting.”
“We know many fantastically corrupt Nigerians and the property they acquired while in government, as well as how they stole the money of their states and ended up plunging their states into debt and yet PREMIUM TIMES did not consider them objects of investigations,” NPF further said.
The Group implored Nigerians to disregard the alleged sponsored report, assuring that fighting corruption is good, but must be differentiated from witch-hunting.
Exonerating himself of the allegation, In his defence, Peter Obi told Premium Times that “The offshore entity is the holding company for most of his assets and that the business structure he adapted was to enable him to avoid excessive taxation.
“I am sure you too will not like to pay inheritance tax if you can avoid it,” he clarified.
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