The Peoples Democratic Party has berated the All Progressives Congress for what it described as an attempt to cover up its complicity in the looting of repatriated funds and defending an alleged plot by a cabal in the Presidency to re-loot the recently received $311 million.
The PDP, in a statement on Thursday, said instead of seeking to divert attention, the APC should face the issue and respond to the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, who alerted the nation that the APC administration’s N500 billion Social Investment Programme was a huge scam and that the bulk of the money did not get to the designated poor; “a fraud for which the APC remains indicted.”
The statement, signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said, “Our party further challenges the APC to respond to the report of the US Department of State, which exposed the plot by the APC administration to divert $100 million of the repatriated fund to the Chairman of APC Governor’s Forum, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.
“No! The APC would not attempt to make the littlest of response because its hands are heavily soiled with looted funds. Moreover, it is on record that the APC has not been able to point to any project executed by its administration despite the stream of repatriated money channelled to it.”
The statement said it was not for nothing that the APC had been riotous since the PDP busted its fresh plot to loot the repatriated $311 million, and had resorted to vituperations, insults, threats and unfounded accusations against well-meaning Nigerians.
It said, “It is because our insistence on transparency and accountability in the handling of the funds has ended their re-looting ploys. Nigerians have continued to witness how the APC and officials in the Buhari Presidency have been stuttering and stammering on national television since the plot to steal the money was exposed.
“We are already aware of their desperate plans to unleash heavily paid hack writers and spin doctors to assist in diverting public attention and blackmailing patriotic individuals and groups demanding for accountability in the handling of the fund.”
Ologbondiyan added, “It is even more distressing that officials of the APC administration are already compromising the sovereignty of our nation by attempting to transfer the powers of appropriation of our national resources from our National Assembly to foreign powers, just to conceal the plot to siphon the money.
“Such unpatriotic action is not only reprehensible but also completely repugnant. The power to appropriate our national resources is only vested on our National Assembly and cannot be surrendered to any foreign power under any guise.”
According to him, it is on record that such national betrayal never happened under PDP administrations where all funds, including repatriated funds, were transparently handled in compliance with Nigeria’s extant financial rules.
He noted, “Our party, therefore, demands that the $311 million be immediately directed to the Federation Account for proper appropriation in line with our laws,” calling on the National Assembly to get ready to use its legislative instruments against the APC-led government, “should the repatriated fund be dissipated in any manner other than as prescribed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
