…Chidiebere Okoh Of MYC Warns: Nobody Should Tamper With Bunmi Ojo
The Convener and Director of Market Youth Congress (MYC), a good governance and democratic advocacy pressure group has lent it’s voice to a pressing national issue, a coordinated attack by the opposition to destabilize some Performing Ministers of this administration, insisting that Bunmi Ojo’s position as Minister of Interior should not be tempered with because he duly resigned from the board of his company before contesting elections and further getting appointment as a minister before resigning as house member.
Saying, “His antecedents as Chairman House Committee on NDDC is a track record they speaks volumes”.
“We are aware that he has become a threat to VISA racketeering individuals because his reforms that made acquiring of international passports/VISAs easier and more transparent has taken food out of their table. Therefore any attempt to thwart his appointment will be vehemently resisted by lovers of democracy, especially going by the visible reforms we have witnessed in Immigration and NSCDC within a short time under his watch. We will be glad to walk the streets to make our voices heard”.
In his statement made valuable to TVAfrica on Thursday, he explained: “I understand that as professionals, we must separate issues. Bunmi Ojo is an experienced professional and businessman in his field who has done business with the government. Before he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives, he resigned from his company as stated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, thereby fulfilling all legal requirements requisite to his election to the Green Chamber (Documents to proof are attached below). He is also legally qualified for appointment as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as his resignation from his company still subsists. Any individual or group of people trying to tow the line of disparity to score cheap political goal is an enemy of democracy and will be resisted vehemently.
“Additionally, Ojo is expected to declare any interest he has in a matter that could benefit his former company if he is supervising the institution that will award the contract. By resigning from his position in 2019, he has fulfilled the law’s requirements. If his former company wants to do business under the Ministry he supervises and/or other sister ministries, it is ethically required that he disclose his interest to the relevant bodies responsible for awarding the contracts, which is the due process. The law does not intend to punish those who sell their shareholding to hold public offices, rather the law seek to institute due process, protect transparency at all times.
“For instance, former Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) publicly established a blind trust for his companies to comply with ethical standards, but this did not stop CRSG from granting land to OBJ farms to engage in a business they were already known for.
“If you were appointed the AG of the federation, would it be fair to ask you to sell your stake in your law firm, mainly for a position held at someone else’s pleasure?
“In my opinion, fair-minded people should demand thorough investigations to prove that BTO has not manipulated the process, regardless of his ministerial position, and let him be held accountable for it, if proven otherwise. Nobody should tamper with him or should use his name in vein for cheep politics through dangerous propaganda” he warns.
Chief Okoh also buttressed that It is essential to continue separating these issues conceptually; otherwise, we would disqualify a large number of entrepreneurs from going into governance. The same applies to professionals who work for companies they do not own, whether local or international. The concept of conflict of interest extends beyond direct ownership to beneficial interests.
ALL PROOFS OF RESIGNATION OF BUNMI TUNJI-OJO
