The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has vowed to probe previous administrations if elected president in the 2023 election.
Sowore disclosed this on Saturday via his verified Twitter handle, @yeleSowore, barely 24 hours after his counterpart at the Labour Party, Peter Obi, said his administration would not prioritise probing previous administrations.
KEMI FILANI NEWS had reported that Obi had said that if elected president in 2023, his administration would not close shop and start witch-hunting previous administrations.
Obi stated this shortly after unveiling an educationist, Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as his running mate on Friday in Abuja.
“As for probing the past government, let me tell you: you see me argue that you can’t close your shop and be chasing thieves; those who only look at yesterday and today will miss tomorrow. God did not give us eyes at the back; mine is to look forward.
“If you come into the government today and decide to stop the leakage first, you will get more. I am not going to be part of any form of victimisation or witch-hunt; it won’t happen. Nigerians must live within law and order,” Obi said.
In contrast to Obi, Sowore said if the country could retrieve money from late General Sanni Abacha, nothing should stop the country from recovering from living government officials found guilty of looted funds.
The presidential hopeful said, “As President of Nigeria, I will probe and retrieve every penny stolen by past Nigerian rulers, those who have murdered innocents and deprived them of a bright future. If we could be retrieving money from dead and buried Sanni Abacha, we should retrieve from living legendary thieves.”
Retweeting Sowore’s tweet, the AAC presidential candidate’s running mate, Haruna Magashi, posted, “There will be no exemptions, all political thieves, past and present, will be stripped under our administration. Stolen funds from Nigerians must be taken back.”