A pro-democracy group, National Committee of Yoruba Youths, NCYY, has called for the sack of the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, PACAC, Itse Sagay for failure to declare his assets at the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, in “accordance with the law”.
The group in a statement signed by its national president, Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi on Sunday, June 25, 2017 in Abuja, stated that it has conducted a thorough but secret search at the CCB’s office and was convinced that Professor Sagay evaded that constitutional responsibility on him to declare his assets.
Sagay was recently caught on tape where he disclosed that he and some unnamed top government officials tried to influence the Code of Conduct Tribunal for a guilty verdict on Bukola Saraki.
“The consequences of this illegality is for Professor Sagay to be sacked from office and be immediately prosecuted. We therefore give the respected Acting President Yemi Osinbajo who is a Professor of Law and senior advocate to put a stop to this illegality within 48 hours. We also call on the CCB to within 72 hours commence the prosecution of the PACAC chairman at its tribunal”, the group stated.
AA noted that its investigation showed that the facts of Sagay’s circumvention of the law was known to the former board of the CCB headed by Mr. Sam Saba and that the board deliberately covered up the act of omission only for the facts to become known now that the CCB has no board.
“We are surprised and disappointed to find out that Sagay continues to go to equity with soiled hands. He is the one who is loudest about the anti-corruption fight of the government, yet he does not deem it fit to be transparent by declaring his assets as demanded by law,” the statement said.
“He should in fact, go beyond the demand of the law by making public his assets and justifying how he acquired them. This will put him on a moral high ground to accuse others and pontificate on the fight against corruption.
“The professor specialises in attacking everybody about corruption and need for transparency as well as using abusive words in spite of his advanced age, yet he refused to do the basic thing which would demonstrate his commitment to the fight. Sagay should walk his talk and stop being a hypocrite. With this our finding, he should be sacked and prosecuted”, the group stated.
It therefore reminded Osinbajo that failure to sack and prosecute Sagay will be another testimony to the claim by some sections of the society that the fight against corruption is selective and a mere political game.
