An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Lauretta Onochie, has accused former President, Goodluck Jonathan of attending meetings of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, and benefiting financially.
Onochie made the allegation while responding to those criticising the President, his wife as well as his cabinet members.
A press statement she issued reads: “I feel very sorry for those who are making a great deal of effort at tainting everyone around the President.
“It’s a case of, ‘We are filthy and rotten, we must wrestle you till some of our filth rub off on you. If it doesn’t fit, It won’t stickk!
“They started with President Buhari himself. Lies upon lies were cooked up about his person. How, years ago, he misappropriated funds while serving at the Petroleum Trust Fund. That fell on its face. Flat on its face. Years ago, it was thoroughly investigated and found to be untrue. TOTALLY UNTRUE.
“They moved on to President Buhari’s religion. They have mapped out the plan of how Pres. Muhammadu Buhari planned to Islamise Nigeria, just that he was not part of the arrangement.
“Only those with no common sense and some mischievous intents, believe the trash. It did not matter that Ex-Pres. Jonathan was a regular at the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Conference and benefitted financially from the Islamic organisation, while making policy statements in churches.
“Nigeria is a nation and has no religion. Only individuals have religious leanings. If it’s difficult or even impossible for a Christian to be convinced to abandon his or her Christian Denomination for another Christian denomination, how can Pres.” “Buhari convince Christians to all become Moslems? Only those who have poached eggs for brains would believe and parade such utter nonsense.
“After they failed woefully to cast aspersions on, and taint the Buhari-led war on corruption, they went back to the drawing board where it was decided,
“If we can’t pin anything on the eagle, let’s smear the eaglets with tar.
“We haven’t forgotten how Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, frustrated by the exposure of the massive electoral fraud that brought him to power, targeted the Wife of the President for a smear campaign.
“After all, Pres. Buhari is fighting corruption and should now charge his wife to prove his anti corruption stance. Even on completely false and cooked up allegations? It didn’t stick as the lies were promptly exposed to have been fraudulently concocted by the serial electoral fraudster.
“APC leaders, Chief Bola Tinubu and Gov Rotimi Amaechi are their favourite floor mops. These leaders who were not born in 2015, suddenly became criminals in that year because of their closeness to Pres. Buhari. But so far, they have hit brick walls with these respectable APC leaders.
“So they turned their attention to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. BD Lawal. Also in their radar are the Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Magu, the Comptroller General of Customs and Excise, Rtd. Col. Hammed Ali, the Attorney General of the Federation, and other principal officers of the Pres. Buhari-led government.
“They are now back again to the wife of the President. When I first saw the allegations of Mrs. Buhari’s wrongdoing with the British High commission, I knew it could not be further from the truth.
“The timely rebuttal by Mrs Buhari’s Media Aide, Adebisi Ajayi, made it crystal clear the allegations were nothing but the continued attacks on those around the President. It was a clear case of, “Get the eaglets if you can’t catch the eagle.
“Mrs. Patience Jonathan, who paraded herself as an unconstitutional First Lady and her husband’s favourite Staff, Mrs Diezani Madueke, are both in the news for all the wrong reasons. They are competing for the crown of the Queen of Corruption, in the forfeiture of cash and properties, under the supervision of Mallam Ibrahim Magu’s EFCC.
“So their thinking is, why not show that Mrs Aisha Buhari is not different from these women! No, there’s a world of difference. Aisha Buhari is not cut from the same fabric as Patience Jonathan and Diezani Madueke. She is a different breed.
“You see, Aisha Buhari is a ray of sunshine in many respects. For starters, she’s a thorough-bred. She knows and stands on the constitution as a law-abiding citizen of our great nation. She said it herself that there’s no provision for the office of the First Lady in our constitution.
“She is quite happy and pleased to be simply addressed as who she is, “The Wife of the President”. And why not? Her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari is a globally acclaimed incorruptible man of integrity the corrupt love to hate!
“The fact that there’s no governmental provisions for the Wife of the President has not stopped Mrs. Buhari from making giant strides in humanitarian works in our nation. Her eyes are open, watching like an eagle, for areas she could bring relief, even in a small way, to the less privileged in our nation.
“Her ears are open to the cries of the suffering ones among us. And she does not just draw attention to the plight of the ones suffering, she mobilises materials and medical services needed to alleviate the pains and anguish of these Nigerians.
“Her hands are extended to those in anguish. At the commemoration of the second year in captivity of the Chibok girls, Mrs. Buhari hosted representatives of the abducted Chibok girls’ parents and the parents of the massacred Buni Yadi boys.
“She launched a textbook, an academic textbook she had written and pledged the entire proceeds to both sets of parents. It was a magnanimous gesture on her part, not only because this was her first book but that the parents were getting the compassion they deserved and it was Aisha Buhari, the wife of their President, that extended that compassion to them.
“She is continually in troubled spots, bringing the much needed support to people, especially women and children. She is somehow obsessed with bringing healthcare closer to pregnant women and nursing mothers aiming to reduce the risks, associated with those in such conditions.
“She is supporting and equipping children in the troubled North East to return to school after years of being away from formal education.
“I hate to do a comparison between Mrs Buhari and Mrs Jonathan. Mrs Jonathan is not an epitome of womanhood. We are not even sure how she acquired a knack for alleged looting.
“Patience Jonathan is a woman who joined her husband and his more than forty thieves in the looting of the nation’s treasury, firmly placing millions of Nigerian families below the poverty line. So how can anyone try to bring our Queen of hearts to the level of those who are suffering the consequences of their actions.
“Apart from being male, there is also no common grounds between Pres. Buhari and Ex-Pres. Jonathan. While the ex president was docile, president Buhari is alive to his responsibilities and has the will to charge anyone found wanting. But to think that the President would act on gossips, lies, fabrications and innuendos is to live in Jonathan’s era.
“Anyone in authority under the watchful eyes of Pres. Buhari who crosses the line of corruption should be exposed and punished. But to frame innocent individuals with falsified documents and stories, aimed at tainting, embarrassing and humiliating them, is unjust, unfair, uncharitable and condemnable.
“Dressing Mrs. Buhari in Mrs. Jonathan’s robe is an effort in futility. It won’t fit. Let’s get out facts straight.”