Edwin Clark, elder statesman and Ijaw national leader, says
he has always been in support of the fight against corruption, recalling
how he challenged former President Olusegun Obasanjo for having just
N20,000 when he left prison but is now one of the wealthiest
ex-presidents in West Africa.
Addressing reporters at his
Warri, Delta state residence on Friday, Clark said he confronted
Obasanjo with this allegation in the era of former President Goodluck
Jonathan.
Maintaining that Nigerians know his stance against
corruption, Clark spoke on the role he played in the conviction of James
Ibori, former Delta state governor, who is currently serving a jail
term in London.
“I talked about corruption during the time of erstwhile President Obasanjo and Yar’ Adua,” he said.
“During
Jonathan’s time, I accused Chief Obasanjo that he was the most corrupt
ex-president Nigeria had ever produced. I said that he left prison with
only N20,000, but today he is one of the wealthiest former presidents in
the whole of West Africa.
“I was also in the forefront of
fighting our former governor, Chief James Ibori, leading to him being
sentenced UK. Every Nigerian is aware of this. I led the crusade against
him especially when a judge dropped the charges against him.”
Clark said people accusing him of not speaking against corruption were “unpatriotic”.
Responding
to a recent critical piece against him, the Ijaw leader said:
“Ordinarily, I shouldn’t have reply to it because whoever is the author
is vicious, wicked and not a patriotic Nigerian. Otherwise, he wouldn’t
have written I never spoke against corruption during the time of former
President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I said the author is being vicious because I have been talking about corruption even before the time of Jonathan.”
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