Nigeria’s main opposition parties have rejected a list of 135 politicians accused of corruption by the country’s anti-graft agency.
They describe it as a plot to sabotage their chances in April’s elections.
The list includes Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who defected from the ruling party to run as an opposition Action Congress (AC) presidential candidate.
A court is expected to decide whether Mr Abubakar can remain vice-president following his defection.
Both the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and the AC say they will still field their 66 candidates, who are on the list.
The opposition has also advised their candidates to shun a panel of inquiry set up by the government to probe politicians on the corruption blacklist.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied accusations that it targets opponents of President Olusegun Obasanjo, who steps down in April after two terms in office.
The EFCC earlier this week named some 135 politicians it considered “unfit to hold public office because of corruption.”
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) reacted by replacing its 52 candidates blacklisted by the EFCC, saying it is “a law-abiding party.”
But the opposition says they will not be “fooled” into following the PDP’s example.
“Our members whether listed in the EFCC report or not will contest the elections,” ANPP leader Edwin Ume-Ezeoke told reporters in the capital, Abuja.
“If they are waiting for us to drop anyone of them, go and tell them they are mistaken, because, we will not help them achieve their malicious, illegal and unconstitutional acts.”
‘Embarrassment’
Mr Abubakar’s AC also rejected the EFCC’s blacklist, saying it will not act on it.
“If these people have indeed been investigated and indicted, as the presidency and its cohorts would want Nigerians to believe, what is the purpose of summoning them to face a panel of enquiry on the same alleged offences?” AC spokesman Lai Mohammed challenged.
Mr Abubakar, who has consistently denied corruption allegations, says he will sue for defamation.
EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu told the BBC the blacklist was “purely advisory”.
“We have no powers to stop them from fielding any candidates in any way. What we can do is advise on measures to take to prevent corruption in our country and we have satisfied that by forwarding that list to the political parties.
“The advice is honest and genuine. But I think that failure to take the advice may end up a major embarrassment in the future for any party that opts to ignore it.”
Governor returns
Meanwhile, an appeal court has ruled that the impeached governor of south-eastern Anambra State Peter Obi be reinstalled after it found him innocent of corruption charges.
He was impeached in November for gross misconduct and replaced by his deputy Virginia Etiaba who became Nigeria’s first female governor for only three months.
Mr Obi is the second impeached governor to regain his job.
Rasheed Ladoja of the south-western Oyo State has also returned to his job after a court ruled that his sacking had been illegal.