Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has said that President Muhammadu Buhari does not need to take note of all prosecutions that go on in Nigeria.
El-Rufai said this in reference to the case of Justice Walter Onnoghen at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
Speaking on polity in Kaduna and Nigeria as a whole, El-Rufai said it is time Nigerian leaders and people are reflective in decisions, rather than operate on ethnic or religious biases.
In the case of Onnoghen, the Kaduna state governor said the position taken by governors of the South-south is disheartening.
He said, “One of the most painful things I have experienced in the last two weeks, was the statement by the governors of the South-south, justifying that non-declaration of assets is nothing, is a non-issue because the Chief Justice of Nigeria is from the South-South”.
The governor argued that “wrong is wrong and right should be right”, and as such, leaders should advise that we can’t do it all the time, sometimes it’s not black and white, it’s a bit of grey, but we must stand for something that is right”.
Reacting to the issue of the president not being aware of the CJN’s case, Governor El-Rufai said Nigerians should be worried if the president keeps records of all cases going on in and around the country.
He said Nigerians must stop personalizing institutions, asking, “Why should the president know about the prosecution of anyone?”.
El-Rufai said institutions must be allowed to work, arguing that in the case of the Chief Justice the constitution was clear as to the declaration of assets.
The governor further argued saying, “Institutions should be allowed to work”, adding that “We should stand up to protect the integrity of the institution”.
He opined that “Saying that the president doesn’t know is a compliment to the president, it shows that he does not interfere with the institution so much and he doesn’t get involved in this”.
The Kaduna state governor urged Nigerians to stand up for what is right, cease being legalistic, we should cease being ethnic and religious, otherwise, this country will not go anywhere”.
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