A former political adviser to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, Akin Osuntokun, on Monday backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption drive, saying all those who stole public funds must be prosecuted.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said anybody that served in former president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and found to have diverted public funds for personal use must be tried.
“The PDP did not ask anyone to engage in corruption,” Osuntokun said during an interview with journalists in Lagos.
However, he said the President must not restrict his cleansing act to only PDP members, but should ensure All Progressives Congress (APC) members found culpable are not left off the hook.
“There is nobody who won’t support those culpable being tried. But it should apply across board. The President should not respect partisan boundaries,” Osuntokun said.
On PDP’s role as the main opposition party, the political scientist said the party has done well so far, but must rebrand, having, according to him, failed to project itself well while in power.
He said the former ruling party “has been careless” about how it is perceived, adding that it must market itself vigorously.
“PDP needs drastic adjustment because it is now the underdog,” he said.
On his assessment of President Buhari’s administration so far, Osuntokun said it was still too early to make a definite appraisal because “it is still morning.”
“He should use the period of grace to get his act together,” he added.
The Ekiti State governorship aspirant, however, said the President was taking too long in appointing key officers, such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chief of Staff, as he had enough time since his victory on March 28 to decide on who to appoint.
On the National Assembly’s leadership crisis, Osuntokun said internal conflicts were bound to crop up within any party in power.
He refused to fault the security appointments made by the President so far, saying there was nothing wrong if they were based on “proximity of the appointee to the principal.”
On bailout of states by the Federal Government, Osuntokun said the way out of a recurrence is to block areas of waste and restructure the country in line with the recommendation of the last national conference.
He expressed hope that Buhari’s meeting with United States President, Barrack Obama, would lead to increased collaboration in the fight against insurgency.
“Terrorism is an area in which America’s interest coincides with Nigeria’s. I expect they will also discuss how to return our looted funds,” he said.
He said Buhari should have included a few PDP governors in his entourage since he went there to represent Nigeria.
On the search of former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki’s home by the Department of State Security (DSS), Osuntokun said it could have been done differently.
“From the point of view of Public Relations, it can be better managed. I don’t know what they (Dasuki and Jonathan’s ex-Chief Security Officer) have done to deserve that, but it looks like there’s an element of intimidation to it,” he said.