The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to express our shock at the loud silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on the humongous corruption scandal and other illegalities currently being exposed at the nation’s cash cow, the NNPC in which two of his henchmen, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru are the dramatis personae.
2. As a political party, we expect that the
President, who prides himself as an indefatigable corruption fighter, would for
once try to live above board, by genuinely allowing one of his own, accused of
corruption, get properly investigated and prosecuted as a show of his
impartiality in the war against corruption.
3. He should do this to correct the open
impression Nigerians have about his so called anti-corruption war; that it's
just a tool of persecution of perceived enemies.
4. We view the allegations levelled against
Baru by Kachikwu as too grave to be swept under the carpet and we insist that
the NNPC GMD must be treated like an accused who should not have the
opportunity to influence investigation into his alleged misdeeds.
5. In this light, we demand an immediate
suspension of the NNPC GMD so that proper investigation can be carried out by
the relevant anti-corruption agencies.
6. Ordinarily if there was sincerity in the
anti-corruption war , President Muhammadu Buhari should not have waited for any
prompting before he takes a decisive action on this matter, but as customary
with his administration, we suspect that he's trying to shield Baru as he did
for Babachir Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)
whom he merely suspended to allow the hullabaloo generated by the fraud
perpetrated in the management of the emergency fund for the IDPs, die down.
Also up till now we have never heard anything again about the millions of
dollars and billions of Naira discovered at an Ikoyi apartment.
7. Nigerians have not forgotten the acts of
illegality and double standard perpetrated by the president in refusing to hand
over Babachir Lawal to the EFCC for proper investigation and possible
prosecution for graft, but rather, preferring to give the task of investigation
of the open sleaze to the Vice President, in a move not known to any law of
this nation.
8. Even at that, the report of the Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo led committee is gathering dust on the shelf of the
President because he probably could not bear to see one of his closest allies
punished by the laws of the land, even when all facts show that blatant and
unbridled theft was perpetrated by the president's man.
9. The sum involved in the NNPC scandal is $25
Billion. Less than 10% percent of that ($2 billion) is involved in the so
called arms fund allegedly converted by the former NSA for which hundreds of
Nigerians have been arrested and hounded. Nigerians can now see the hypocrisy
in the so called anti-corruption fight. We may as well say that the privileged
class of APC members enjoys total immunity from the anti-corruption campaign.
10. Tired of this double-faced corruptions
fight and cover ups we demand an immediate commencement of investigation into
this latest exposed sleaze by another of President Buhari's men.
11. We have been saying this for months that
the looting of the nation's resources under this administration is record
setting in the history of this nation and we are being proven right on daily
basis by the little revelations that are being made by even those working under
the administration.
12. We wonder what the stench will be when the
real and hidden atrocities being perpetrated under the watch of President
Buhari are finally exposed when Nigerians throw the APC government out of power
in 2019.
13. The sum of $25 Billion said to have been
the subject of the latest controversy, when converted to Naira is about N9
Trillion, a sum that is bigger than the nation’s annual budget.
14. This we find, is one of the very many
reasons, the nation’s economy has nosedived under the inept administration of
the APC.
15. The allegations raised by the Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources is a confirmation of our earlier stance that the
APC administration is in tatters, an administration without coordination, but
one planted firmly in the hands of a few cabal who are stealing the nation dry
while the President continues to feign ignorance of the sickening stench.
16. If not, how on earth can President
Muhammadu Buhari justify a situation where a minister he appointed to serve
under him, presiding over an important sector like the oil sector be turned to
a mere house-help who must get clearance from some "outsiders "
before accessing the president? How on earth will a mere MD of a corporation
have the temerity to sideline a minister under whom he works and take decisions
without consultation with the appropriate authority. How on earth could the
NNPC GMD have been bold enough to sideline the entire board of NNPC and take
such far reaching decisions that have grave implications on the nation’s
economy alone?
17. We suspect and our suspicion is reinforced
by the unfolding events that powerful people at the corridors of power are
tacitly involved in this. If the President’s powerful Chief of Staff, Abba
Kyari could sit on the NNPC board and such a calamity is taking place without
an eyelid being blinked, we are forced to believe that the stealing is being
done to the advantage of the president who has shown by his body language that
the only thing that matter most to him for now, is his second term ambition.
18. Will it be considered a "hate speech
" if we say the money being stolen by President Buhari's men are being
kept aside into a special pool for the prosecution of his second term ambition?
19. We challenge the president to prove us
wrong by allowing his allies being caught up in acts of brazen stealing of our
commonwealth, get punished in accordance with the laws of the land. Anything
aside this, we will take as confirmation of our suspicion that the rottenness
is from the very top.
20. We demand as bonafide Nigerians, an
express order from President Muhammadu Buhari to the NNPC GMD asking him to go
on compulsory leave so that investigation into the matter at stake can be
conducted without interference.
21. We also demand an order from the President
to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft
agencies to immediately commence investigation into all issues of corruption
levelled against Baru, as well as other persons who might have overtly or
covertly participated in the illegal act.
Much as we commend the National Assembly for
indicating interest in probing the allegations against the NNPC GMD as approved
in the adoption of the motion moved by Senator Samuel Anyanwu at the Wednesday
plenary, we wish to appeal to the leadership of the Senate to prevail on the
Ad-hoc committee set up for the purpose of the investigation, to make their
sitting open to all Nigerians so that nothing will be surreptitiously swept
under the carpet.
22. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
reiterate our support for the drive to eliminate corruption from the workings
of the Nigerian government, but we hold firmly to our stance that the APC
Government under president Buhari must lead and live by example.
23. We say no to soft landing to corruption;
and corrupt members of the APC government. We say no to double standard in the
fight against corruption.
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