going on in the country in spite of the "holier than thou" posturing
of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The PDP said that there was "incontrovertible evidence that grave
corrupt practices are ongoing and allowed to fester by associates and
cronies of government."
The opposition party listed these "associates" to include former and
present governors of the All Progressives Congress and those that
allegedly financed Buhari's campaign "with stolen state funds."
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, in a statement
in Abuja on Thursday, said, "The onus lies on the APC-led Federal
Government to wage a credible holistic anti-corruption war by first
purging itself of unclean association and coming out clear on sleazes
already going on in government quarters since it took office in May.
"Whereas the PDP restates its respect for the person and office of the
President as well as our support for the war against corruption, it is
incumbent on us to alert Nigerians of the prevailing circumstances
around this government that are capable of fundamentally undermining
good governance if left unchecked.
"Charity, they say, begins at home. For the APC-led government, it has
now become a question of 'physician, heal thyself.'
"Every discerning mind knows that this administration is not executing
a credible holistic war against corruption because it is a product of
corruption, surrounded by corrupt persons; a factor apparently
responsible for its obvious blind eyes to huge sleazes now being
perpetrated in government agencies by persons claiming closeness to
the President."
Reacting, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai
Mohammed, described the PDP allegations as unsubstantiated.
"These are wild and unsubstantiated allegations. They are
uncoordinated and a mere rehash of what the PDP has been saying in the
last three months. This is rabble-rousing at its worst," the APC
spokesman said.
The Presidency has also described the opposition allegations as
frivolous and intended to distract the government.
President's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam
Garba Shehu, said contrary to the PDP allegations, Buhari had not
and would not shield any APC government official from facing
prosecution for corruption.
Metuh however said it was alarming that the Buhari government that got
to power based on the President's anti-corruption credentials had
broken the records in constitutional violations and abuse of
regulations.
He said, "How else can one explain the deliberate constitutional
violations in the appointment of heads of financial-handling federal
agencies, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Asset
Management Cooperation of Nigeria without due process of ministerial
consultations and legislative clearance, as the case may be?
"Is this a scheme to open up these key finance institutions for
malpractices and turn them into cash cows for APC interests?
"This is in addition to ongoing manoeuvrings in the oil sector, where
clandestine moves are on to award oil refining licenses to cronies
without the due process of open bidding, as well as statutory
guidelines and checks by the Department of Petroleum Resources."
He called on Nigerians to note that the APC-led administration had not
been forthcoming on spending of funds it inherited in the Excess Crude
Account and other government savings.
Metuh said, "Are they the source of the funds now being circulated to
pay back huge contributions for APC Presidential campaign expenses?
"Furthermore, we wish to draw the attention of all Nigerians to the
fact that this administration, for obvious reasons, has deliberately
turned a blind eye to the corrupt acts of most APC leaders, who as
governors, ministers and labour leaders have been the worst corrupt
set of people ever to bestride the political landscape of the country.
"Otherwise, how else can oneexplain the deafening silence by the
government to the public outrage over the massive looting of public
funds by some past APC governors?"
He asked the Federal Government to explain its silence over what it
described as indignation in "one of the prominent South-West APC
states over corruption issues, including but not limited to alleged
mismanagement of N32 bn SURE-P fund; N78 million state money allegedly
spent on the personal website of a former APC governor, who is also
accused of inflating a N2.1bn contract for the construction of
pedestrian bridges, N25bn for 1.36 kilometre link bridge, US$200mn
World Bank education fund while leaving behind N500bn debt arising
from alleged reckless spending?"
The PDP spokesman added, "The Federal Government's stance on yet
another prominent APC governor in the North-West, who, as a former
minister, was indicted by the Senate for corrupt practices and
embezzlement of over N32bn proceed from the sale of government
property, for which he was disgracefully declared unfit to hold public
office by the highest law making body in the land?"
Apart from financial corruption, the opposition party said it had
drawn the attention of Nigerians to the "corrupting of security and
democratic institutions in Nigeria, including the facts of nepotism in
the appointment of an Acting Chairman of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, a position unknown to the constitution; and a
card-carrying member of the APC as the Director General of the
Directorate of State Services, all in the bid to compromise the system
to favour the Presidency and APC interests."
Garba however said Buhari never told the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission not to touch any APC governor because they belonged to the
party.
He said it was convenient for the PDP to remember the cases of former
Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, but it pretended not to notice the
fact that former Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, who is an
APC member, was also arrested and arraigned at the same time.
He also condemned as malicious and unfounded the allegation by Metuh
that funds from the ECA were being depleted by the Buhari
administration to allegedly pay back APC governors that contributed to
his presidential campaign.
He said Metuh should either apologise to Nigerians for propagating
falsehood or provide evidence to substantiate his claims.
-PUNCH
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