A US diplomat was said to have told members of the Nigerian delegation during the UN General Assembly that the US respects separation of powers as an inherent part of its presidential system of government but warned that politicising the campaign against corruption would not help Nigeria
The diplomat, who does not want to get involved in the political mess and pleaded anonymity allegedly talked about the need to always follow due process and comply with stipulated procedure because the failure to this would be corruption on its own.
According to a member of the Nigerian delegation, they were embarrassed that the diplomatic community had as much insight into the happening back home and prayed that reason prevailed at the end of the day in collective interest.
A member of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) had recently corroborated some of the fears of the diplomat, when he revealed that the entire trial was needless and in contradiction with the process stipulated in the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. The CCB member, who also spoke to newsmen on the condition of anonymity reportedly said if the Bureau had followed the provision of Section 3(d) of its own law, it would not have rushed to trial but first invite Saraki to come and defend whatever inconsistency or infraction observed in his asset declarations.
Alvsworld 