Gbenga Daniel accuses EFCC of persecution

A national chairmanship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Gbenga Daniel has described his ongoing trial by the Economic and Financials Crimes Commission (EFCC) as persecution and not prosecution.

Daniel, a former governor of Ogun state spoke Wednesday at the PDP headquarters in Abuja when he came to pick his nomination form.

While disclosing that his trial has been ongoing for seven years during which he had visited the court for 40 times, he however, stated that the anti-graft commission is yet to finish presenting their case in court.

The chairmanship aspirant who noted that his trial is not an obstacle to leading the party said virtually everybody in the PDP is being tried for one thing or the other adding that more of the faithful were being arrested on daily basis.

“I don’t want to talk about my trial. People call it prosecution, I call it persecution. But I think there are a few things that are instructive. This trial had been going on for the past nearly seven years.

“I have been to court probably 40 times. It is prosecution that is still prosecutung but they still have not finished presenting their case. I think that is instructive.

“Inasmuch as I don’t want to talk about it, the only thing I want to say is that according to the Nigerian Law and constitution, a person remains innocent until pronounced guilty or otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction.

I don’t want to go into the politics of our own state but I am very sure that there is really no issue about my trial. If there is issue, I will not come to say I want to be chairman.

“And when you look at what is going on now in our country, who is in PDP that is not bring tried? Virtually everybody who is in PDP is being tried for one thing or the other.

“They are being arrested on a daily basis and I think the media has a lot of work to report what is going on. As far as I am concerned, I cannot pronounce myself as innocent but I know that I am innocent.,” Daniel said.

At the last count, five PDP chairmanship aspirants have picked their nomination forms.

They are Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Chief Bode George, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Prof Taoheed Adedoja and Prince Uche Secondus.

Those being expected are former Governor of Oyo state, Rashidi Ladoja, Prof Tunde Adeniran, Jimi Agbaje.

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