The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has again lashed out at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accusing the country’s main opposition party of engaging in “senseless noise making” instead of offering constructive criticisms to the government.
“Although the opposition in a democracy is supposed to offer constructive criticisms and proffer alternative solutions to government policies and programmes, the opposition rhetoric of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is nothing but senseless noise-making, in its failed attempt to distract the President Muhammadu Buhari administration,” the APC said.
A statement by Yekini Nabena, the acting National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Sunday in Abuja, noted that in both content and context, PDP’s latest allegations on President Buhari’s administration’s anti-corruption efforts should be seen for what they are: empty, baseless and diversionary.
But the PDP in a reaction, Sunday tasked President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to provide services for Nigerians, saying they were now tired of the blame game of the ruling party.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan told Vanguard that the APC-led administration has failed on the thematic areas of economy, fight against insurgency and the anti-corruption war.
He said, “Nigerians are tired of their blame games. They know that Nigerians have rejected them, having failed to keep the promises they voluntarily made.
“Is it the PDP that made the President Buhari’s government not to take action on the Kemi Adeosun National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, certificate forgery scam? Is it the PDP that caused WAEC to unmask Obono-Obla’s certificate forgery scandal?
“Is the PDP to blame for the humongous sums of money the disgraced former Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Lawal Daura allegedly stole?”
APC’s statement read further: ”It is truly amazing that the party of a failed government which held the country prostrate for 16 years; stole, wasted and misappropriated our abundant resources will have the audacity to make comments on the current administration that within three years is clearing the rot left after the PDP’s misrule.
“Was it not under the PDPs immediate-past administration that disclosures of nauseating magnitude were made”?
”It listed those disclosures as, “I collected N350m from Dasuki for consultation – Iyorchia Ayu; I only collected $30,000 from Dasuki, not N100 million – Bode George; I got N4.6billion from Dasuki for spiritual purposes – Bafarawa; I got N2.16 billion from Dasuki for publicity purposes – Dokpesi; I got another N100 million from Yuguda, he did not tell me from where – Bafarawa.
”I gave N100 million each to Odili, Jim Nwobodo, Bode George and others, Yuguda; the President asked to change N10billion to foreign currency for PDP delegates, Dasuki; N950 million was shared in my house – Shekarau and many more shameful disclosures.”
According to the ruling party, these are just a tip of the iceberg of how the nation’s commonwealth were massively looted by the shameless characters in the PDP.
”Instead of apologizing profusely for their gang rape of the nation, the PDP seeks to present itself before Nigerians in 2019 to seek a return to their stealing.
”The PDP should understand that Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry how the country was destroyed by the PDP’s gang of pen robbers,” the party stated.
The statement reads further: “The PDP may wish to explain to Nigerians under which administration a state governor who was set free in many courts in Nigeria on charges of corruption and money laundering but was tried and jailed in the United Kingdom.
”Is it not ironic that the PDP preaches about corruption in the oil sector when it, in fact, oversaw record pillage, maladministration and disrepair of the oil sector when it held sway. ”The PDP should remind Nigerians the circumstances under which the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, now Emir of Kano, lost his job in the bank. How many millions of dollars did he say was not remitted to the ‘ coffers on regular basis?
”The PDP may also explain the fuel subsidy scandals and how billions of the country’s funds went into private pockets; the massive seizures of properties and cash from public officers who served in the PDP government.
“In 2015, Nigerians voted massively for the establishment of a truly progressive government to check the shocking level of impunity, corruption, disregard for the rule of law and other deplorable undemocratic practices which previously defined our national life. The APC assures all Nigerians that the President hold sacred this collective trust.
“Despite spirited efforts to discredit on-going anti-corruption efforts, the war against graft is being won. An often overlooked major achievement of the anti-corruption war is that President Buhari has brought the issue of corruption to the heart of national consciousness.
”The fact that Nigerians are talking about it means we have not accepted it as a way of life and as long as ordinary people continue to show that disdain for corruption, we would win the war sooner or later.
“Under President Buhari, the country has never had it so good. Yearly remittances by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, JAMB, have been in billions of Naira, over and above what PDP governments remitted in 16 years; increasing yearly revenue from the Customs Service; within three years and despite low oil prices, execution of massive road and rail infrastructure, our foreign reserves have grown to over $47 billion, about $4billion more than that of South Africa.
“Under the administration of President Buhari, no minister will purchase bullet proof cars with public funds, nor will an oil minister junket the globe with family members in private jets at the public expense of Nigerians.
“Nigerians were taken for granted for too long and have vowed enough is now enough. No degree of blackmail and wicked scheming will make us return to the years the locusts had eaten.
”We have crossed the Red Sea and have no intention to return to our ugly past. While the PDP and their agents attempt to discredit the ongoing fight against corruption, the question the PDP should answer is: are anti-corruption efforts being carried out within the ambit of the law?
”We urge the President, law enforcement agencies, anti-graft bodies and, indeed, Nigerians not to be sidetracked by the desperate and roguish attempt by the PDP and their agents to discredit the ongoing fight against corruption. It is natural, corruption will fight back!
“The assurances Nigerians can hold firm is that the APC will not fail the country like PDP’s wasted 16 years. While the PDP continues to spew lies in its cheap attempt at opposition politics, President Buhari is concentrating on the important work at hand, clearing the mess and rebuilding the country in all facets.”
