“NASS Probe of Jonathan’s CCTV Project Is Politically Motivated” – Mahdi Shehu

Public affairs analyst Mahdi Shehu has accused the National Assembly of playing politics with its decision to probe the $460 million Chinese loan secured during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for the Abuja Metropolitan CCTV project.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night, Shehu described the renewed investigation as politically motivated, hypocritical, and an exercise in futility.

He likened the probe to “a desperate attempt to dance naked in the marketplace while angels curse the dancers,” saying it exposes what he called lawmakers’ limitless shamelessness and unintelligent desperation.

According to Shehu, the CCTV loan was properly processed and approved by the National Assembly over a decade ago, unlike what he termed the unchecked borrowing sprees of subsequent administrations.

He compared debt figures across governments, noting that Jonathan left behind about ₦12 trillion in debt, while former President Muhammadu Buhari raised it to ₦77 trillion, and the current administration under President Bola Tinubu has reportedly borrowed ₦144 trillion so far.

“Unlike Buhari’s and Tinubu’s excruciating loan jamboree, Jonathan’s CCTV loan was subjected to legislative scrutiny and approval,” Shehu stated.

Shehu also accused lawmakers of selective investigations, arguing that they had ignored more questionable financial dealings in other administrations.

“If the National Assembly has any sense of investigative decency, they should be probing Buhari’s ₦30 trillion ‘Ways and Means’ loan obtained in secrecy and endorsed by a rubber-stamp Senate,” he said.

He further questioned why the legislature had not investigated Tinubu’s alleged ₦150 trillion loans, the reported ₦7 trillion 2025 budget padding, or the ₦10.5 trillion constituency projects he claimed had failed.

Shehu also cited unresolved financial controversies, including the alleged ₦210 trillion unaccounted proceeds from the NNPCL between 2017 and 2023 and the missing $7 billion purportedly spent on refinery repairs.

“Just last week, the Finance Minister claimed that ₦330 billion was distributed to vulnerable groups, yet there’s no single verifiable evidence. Still, the National Assembly stood on ‘his mandate,’” he wrote.

The outspoken commentator criticised lawmakers for neglecting the worsening poverty and hunger across the country.

“Today, 139 million Nigerians live in abject poverty, 39 million children are malnourished, and 69 million are out of school, while lecturers and doctors are on strike. But none of these concerns attract the National Assembly’s attention,” Shehu lamented.

He concluded by urging the legislature to focus on issues that directly affect Nigerians, saying the public is still waiting for a probe into findings by Mr Obaze on the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“All the victims of injustice are praying daily, and the day their prayers are answered will be a day of regret—when regret has no value,” he warned.