Femi Falana Condemned Buhari for taking N27.5m loan to buy form

Lagos based lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, SAN, has strongly condemned the former head of state and presidential aspirant, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for obtaining a loan of N27.5m to buy his party’s expression of interest and nomination form for the 2015 election.

Buhari is contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

Falana, who spoke on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while speaking at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Paramount FM Chapel Press Week, noted that the action of the elder statesman was vulnerable, noting that it lead to monetization of politics.

He said, “It is indefensible for Gen. Buhari to have obtained a loan facility of N27.5m just to obtain a form of intent to contest in the presidential election in 2015 under the All Progressives Congress.

“Is he going to obtain another loan during his campaign, because in Nigeria, it costs billions of naira to run a presidential campaign?”

Falana, who was the guest lecturer at the event, spoke on the topic: ‘Current Security Challenges: Implication for 2015 Elections’.

The soft-spoken lawyer also advised journalists to be wary of fake politicians who would want to play to the gallery, but should focus on issues.

He said, “Journalists must show more than a passing interest on how those aspirants want to manage the economy. The government must address mass illiteracy, corruption and poverty.”

He also enjoined the government to wake up and fight the security challenges confronting the nation the same way the Ebola scourge was tackled.

“Government gave Ebola Virus Disease attention because it is no respecter of anybody. But government is not conscious of the security of the people because they have security guards protecting them”, he said.