Defections are voluntary, EFCC investigations not politically motivated – Presidency

The Presidency has faulted claims by opposition politicians alleging that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is weakening Nigeria’s multi-party democracy and deploying anti-corruption agencies for political ends, branding the accusations as unfounded and driven by partisan interests.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said the opposition was resorting to “subterfuge and an empty search for scapegoats” in response to its dwindling political fortunes.

The statement explained that recent defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were neither forced nor orchestrated, but rather a product of constitutional freedoms that allow citizens to align with any political party of their choice.

“The people joining the APC are doing so of their own free will, motivated by the noticeable gains of President Bola Tinubu’s reform programme,” the statement said. It added that mass defections to the then-dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 2000 and 2015 did not provoke similar allegations of democratic decline.

On claims that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is being used to harass opposition figures, the Presidency maintained that the agency functions independently and strictly within the framework of the law.

Although it noted that the Presidency does not speak on behalf of the EFCC, the statement reaffirmed that the commission is legally empowered to investigate and prosecute financial crimes without regard to political affiliation, influence or social standing.

“It is curious that those who claim to want to rescue Nigeria are now waging a war against accountability and probity,” the statement said, urging politicians facing investigations to seek redress through due process.

The Presidency further stressed that President Tinubu does not instruct any anti-corruption body on who to arrest, investigate or prosecute, noting that judicial authorities ultimately determine the outcome of such cases.

It described allegations of “weaponisation” as deliberate distractions, arguing that the opposition was struggling to raise credible issues against an administration it said has posted measurable achievements in under three years.

The statement also pointed out that some of the individuals who endorsed the opposition’s position had been investigated or prosecuted by the EFCC prior to President Tinubu’s assumption of office in 2023, while others had been linked to international financial crime investigations.

Warning against politicising state institutions, the Presidency said attempts to weaken public confidence in anti-corruption agencies undermine national efforts to promote transparency.

“No one is above the law, and political affiliation should not be a shield against accountability,” the statement said, citing Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list as a sign of progress in the anti-graft campaign.