Corruption test: Fear grips ministerial hopefuls -Ade Alade

■ Buhari’s integrity screening scares APC leaders, job hunters

The insistence by President Mu­hammadu Buhari to have min­isterial nominees and other top appointees of his government go through ‘corruption test’ is already causing a lot of discomfort within his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This has equally led to fears among ministerial hopefuls especially when information filtered out this week that five top candidates being considered for the position of Secretary to the Govern­ment of the Federation (SGF), failed the corruption test, a development that has continued to cause further delay in the process of appointing some top state func­tionaries.
A source close to the President told Saturday Sun: “He (Buhari) won’t mind how long it took to get the best and most suitable hands to occupy some of these sensitive positions. His insistence that such persons must pass the basic integri­ty screening will ultimately produce good results.”
Worried that the integrity screening may be a major problem for their aspira­tion, some ministerial hopefuls who have submitted copies of their Curriculum Vi­tae to their godfathers, APC leaders and influential persons close to the President are beginning to soft-pedal on their pres­sures.
An influential leader of the APC, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Saturday Sun that indeed many job hunters are beginning to lose interest in appointments under the Buhari adminis­tration.
“You won’t believe that the number of our party members lobbying for one ap­pointment or the other has dramatically reduced because nobody wants to be em­barrassed when it becomes public knowl­edge that they are dropped because they fail the corruption test.
“As I speak with you, many of our peo­ple who have been lobbying to be on the list of ministerial nominees are already saying they will feel more comfortable if they are given jobs that won’t put them under any serious scrutiny like just doing contracts for the government”, the party leader stated.
The source further disclosed that the revelation earlier in the week that some top party leaders being considered for the position of the SGF did not pass the integ­rity test further heightened tension among party leaders “who have been lobbying for the candidates of their choice.”
“What it means is that if anybody tells you now that he or she knows who will become the SGF or Chief of Staff to the President, that person must be telling the lie of the century. I am sure the recent appointment of the National Security Adviser, when the President brought in somebody that was not even within per­mutations, is a good example of what is to come”, the APC chieftain added.
Though the source identified some of those who failed the screening, Saturday Sun has chosen to withhold their names.
Another national leader of the APC, who spoke to Saturday Sun on the issue, also confirmed the development, adding that “even members of our National Work­ing Committee who have been angling for ministerial appointments are beginning to reconsider their aspiration because some are already saying they will rather stay within NWC without stress than to jump into embarrassment or the unknown.”
Buhari has not hidden his determination to cleanse the system of governance in the country. Speaking earlier in the week from the United States, the President vowed not to spare any member of his party, the APC as well as his associates found culpable of corruption.
“If any of my associates or party mem­ber is indicted of corruption, they cannot escape justice. There is not going to be any APC member or any close personality found guilty that would escape justice,” he stated during an interview with the CNN anchor, Christiane Amanpour
He equally vowed to be thorough in se­lecting those who will work in his gov­ernment.

Culled from The Sun