By Emmanuel Aziken

What a week! The week ending today is one that aficionados of the famed integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari have been compelled to recoil in disbelief at happenings around his administration.

PDP

It was a week that opened with the revelation that a fugitive from justice who allegedly blew billions of naira meant for pensioners had been secretly recalled, repositioned upwards and remunerated with at least N22 million by the Federal Government. These were done allegedly at the instance of senior operatives of the Buhari administration.

As Nigerians continued to digest the issue, Senator Isa Misau, a former policeman, from Bauchi State revealed that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris purchased two personal vehicles for the use of the First Lady.

The request for the vehicles which he said came from an aide of the First Lady was fulfilled within two days of the demand.

Though the First Lady has denied any impropriety, it was the closest act of financial misdemeanour that had been directed towards the First Family.

By Thursday, the allegation of corruption swirling around the administration took wings into the markets with the revelation that the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Mounir Gwarzo was paid a severance allowance of N104 million. That was after he was promoted from his position of executive commissioner to director-general of the apex capital market regulatory body.

Though there were several allegations of impropriety against Gwarzo in the petition sent to the House of Representatives, however, the allegation that he received N104 million as severance allowance for his two-year stint as an executive commissioner is bound to be most riveting.

For the members of the House of Representatives who have been severally tongue lashed for the allowances they draw, this particular allegation is bound to be sickening.

A member of the House of Representatives who receives not more than N6 million as severance allowance after a four-year stint would now want to find out what the director-general would receive after his more than two-year stint at the helm of the agency?

Legislators who have repeatedly been accused of corruption by serving and former presidency officials have themselves also muttered that the act is even worse in the executive branch of government. They are under Buhari’s watch gathering solid evidence.

This is because the revelations of this week are not the only allegations of malfeasance to have scarred the administration. Other allegations including the famous grass cutting contract in which one of Buhari’s closest political associates and suspended cabinet scribe, Babachir Lawal was mentioned, have remained in abeyance. The president is still studying the report of the investigation into that matter that was carried out by a committee he inaugurated six months ago. The committee was headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and had the attorney general of the federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami and the National Security Adviser, Gen. Babagana Moguno as members. The matter with the National Health Insurance Scheme also remains pending.

The rage of popular indignation this time got to the president who wasted no time firing Abdulrasheed Maina from his position as director in the Federal Civil Service.

The president’s quick action nonetheless, the development has again exposed the fault line of lack of coherence in the administration as various government officials tried to pass the blame over the issue.

Whatever, the response of a senior presidential official insinuating that the Maina episode was one of the legacies of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP administration was indeed interesting.

The official said that Maina’s restoration was at the behest of agents of the PDP in the administration.

Remarkably, his assertion came before Maina’s family members at a press conference claimed that their humble son was invited by agents of this administration to help it push the change agenda.

These developments show that the challenges against sanity are indeed daunting and would require more than political histrionics to overcome. Buhari indeed, needs our prayers.