The TakeItBack movement knocked the presidency for what it described as “such absurd and morally bankrupt positions”.
TakeItBack movement, a group championed by Omoyele Sowore, a presidential aspirant, has berated the Federal Government on comments attributed to its officials on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate of Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance.
In a statement released on Wednesday by Rachel Onamusi-Kpiasi, the group’s Director of PR, Media and Communications, the movement restated that “there is no relativity to truth”.
Following allegations that Adeosun forged her NYSC certificate, in her defence, Femi Adesina, a presidential spokesman, while speaking on a television programme had stated that “it is not a corruption matter, so to speak”.
However, the TakeItBack movement knocked the presidency for what it described as “such absurd and morally bankrupt positions”.
The statement read: “Goodluck Jonathan’s PDP government lost the plot when the former president declared that ‘Stealing is not corruption’. That statement embodied the PDP’s disconnect from the Nigerian people.”
“In a series of statements made over the last two days, officials of the Buhari government [alluded to the fact that] Finance Minister Adeosun will not be prosecuted for forging a NYSC Exemption Certificate because she is ‘damned good at her job’ and because ‘forgery is not corruption’.
“Our movement believes that truth has no shades or coloration. Just as Nigerians disagreed when Goodluck Jonathan said ‘stealing isn’t corruption’ we also vehemently disagree with the Buhari government’s assertion that ‘forgery is not corruption’. We continue to demand that the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, be brought to justice.”
The group further questioned what message the Presidency was sending to Nigerians and the world for it to hold such a position, stating that “Such absurd and morally bankrupt positions are not surprising from a government whose information minister, Lai Mohammed, claims that tourism is booming, when the only people coming into Nigeria are militant herdsmen who maim and kill innocents.
"The Buhari government expect Nigerians to believe that they have a sprightly President when his extensive medical vacations and the lifeless nature of his leadership is clear for all the world to see?
"Nigerians are being told that the economy is booming, while their tables are empty. Theresa May the British Prime Minister just reminded all of us that Nigeria has the highest number of poor people in the world, with 87 million of our people living in poverty.
“We assure Nigerians that a nation that is led by the convener of our movement, Omoyele Sowore, under the platform of our party, the African Action Congress (AAC), will provide dynamic and transformational leadership to the Nigerian people. For us, there is no relativity to truth. We boldly declare that just as stealing is corruption, forgery is also corruption. We will usher in the progress and growth that Nigeria deserves.”