Those who accuse me of corruption are the most corrupt —Jonathan

- Former President Goodluck Jonathan said the media is not abiding by the ethics of reporting as it did not question President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to declare his asset

- Special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina however argued that the administration of President Buhari is not fighting against Goodluck Jonathan.

Former President Jonathan has come out openly to lambast some Nigerians that accused him of corruption.

Jonathan said it’s unfortunate that those who are judging other people failed to examine themselves first.

Jonathan noted that those who leveled allegation of corruption against other people must be tested before they could be trusted.

Nigerian Tribune reports that Jonathan’s failure to declare his asset was allegedly the reason why he was accused of corruption.

READ ALSO: This was why you were defeated in 2015 - US replies Goodluck Jonathan

“I remember I told the late President Yar’ Adua that it was wrong to declare our assets publicly and I explained why.

“I told him that the drafters of the law knew what they were doing when they wrote the provisions the way they did, such that assets of public officials have to include that of their spouses.

“Imagine a businessman whose wife was invited into government and she has to declare (hers and husband’s) assets publicly.

‘’I told him that what the law required was to declare and those who have questions can then apply the same law to find out,” Jonathan was quoted to have said.

He said the media is not abiding by the ethics of reporting. He added that he did not see any reason why it should not question President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to declare his asset as he had promised before he became a president.

“By the virtue of being President of Nigeria, I have come to know so many things about so many people.”

“Some of the most corrupt Nigerians are the ones who speak most loudly about corruption. Once you have access to the media in Nigeria, you have the liberty to accuse others of corruption regardless of what you are doing,” he said.

This was revealed in a book titled ‘Against the Run of Play’.

READ ALSO: Senator Girei blasts Goodluck Jonathan

Meanwhile, the presidency has reacted to former president Goodluck Jonathan's allegations that the administration of President Buhari is after him and his family.

The presidency made this reaction through the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, in Abuja, on Wednesday, April 26.

Adesina said this current administration does not have any agenda against anybody.

The statement read: “The Presidency is constrained to respond to the banner headline story in a national newspaper of Wednesday, April 26, entitled: “Buhari’s govt harassing my family, says Jonathan.’’

“The former president also reportedly disagreed with the style being used by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in fighting corruption.

“We make bold to state unequivocally that President Buhari harasses nobody; he merely allows the law to take its course. For the umpteenth time, we say that anybody without the skeleton in his or her cupboard has nothing to fear about the fangs of the anti-corruption initiative.

“Fear belongs only to those who have abused trust while in office. Anybody who feels aggrieved is free to approach the courts to seek redress or justice.

“President Buhari believes in the rule of law and that is why his campaign against corruption is anchored on that plank.

“With regard to President Buhari’s anti-graft style, which the former president deprecates, given the scale of revelations and recoveries so far by the anti-corruption agencies, it is obvious that corruption had an uninhibited course during our recent past."

Recall that Legit.ng reported that Professor Attahiru Jega responded to Goodluck Jonathan’s statement that the 2015 general election was flawed due to the different votes recorded in the election.

Jonathan had said that he was disappointed in Professor Jega who was the then chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the way the election went.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of a Nigerian on the street saying categorically that ex-president Goodluck Jonathan was never a bad choice for Nigeria.

Source: Legit.ng