APC, presidency lie to Nigerians—Dr. Junaid Mohammed
Secondus challenges Lai Mohammed in court
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the federal government’s list of some of the party’s members who allegedly looted the nation’s treasury saying the government is sitting on horrendous sleazes which happen on a daily basis.
It would be recalled that the minister of information and culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed had alleged in an interview in Abuja that “PDP Chairman, Uche Secondus, (on the 19th of February, 2015, he took N200m only from the office of the then National Security Adviser); the then PDP Financial Secretary (on the 24th of October, 2014, he took N600m only from the office of the then NSA); the then National Publicity Secretary, Olisah Metuh, (on trial for collecting N1.4bn from the office of the then NSA.
“Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of DAAR Communications, (on trial for taking N2.1bn from the office of the then NSA); former SSA to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dudafa Waripamo-Owei, (on trial over N830m kept in accounts of four different companies); former President Jonathan’s cousin, Robert Azibaola, (on Thursday, a Federal High Court ruled that he has a case to answer for collecting $40m from the office of the then NSA.)
The national publicity secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan, said in a statement issued in Abuja that the list only revealed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the presidency lack any proof of corruption against the PDP.
“This is a government that is yet to account for $26 billion (N9 trillion) stolen through corrupt oil contracts in the NNPC, N1.1 trillion worth of crude diverted to service APC interests, N18 billion Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) intervention fund stolen by APC officials.
“These include the former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, the N10 billion National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for which members of the Buhari cabal were indicted.
“This includes the Mainagate, where the APC government recalled and reinstated an individual indicted for scam running into billions of naira.
“This is in addition to cover provided for serving ministers indicted for corrupt enrichment, among whom is a prominent former APC governor from the South- South, who was indicted by his state for stealing billions of naira to fund President Buhari’s campaign in 2015,” he said.
He emphasised that the PDP was on a rebound, saying allegations by the APC could not stop it from challenging the federal government to fulfill its campaign promises.
“Since, the APC has decided to draw this attack, we will no longer hold back but appropriately commence a serialisation of all looters hiding in APC and the presidency,” he said.
Ologbodiyan also said the APC and the presidency had been trying to transfer their vile spirit of vengeance to Nigerians, as manifested in their refusal to let go, even after the citizens had accepted PDP’s apology, which was made in the overall interest of national healing, renewal and reconciliation.
“The presidency and the APC do not have the spirit of forgiveness. They believe that they must take revenge on everything.
“This is why they are going about hounding everybody perceived to hold opinions that are contrary to their interest.
“This explains why they have continued to keep people like the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) in detention, even after he has been granted bail by the courts,” said Ologbodiyan.
List is clownish–Fayose
Also, the governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose described the list of looters as “clownish.”
Fayose said the list is incorrect since it does not have the names of those the federal government claimed to have looted the country.
“Surprisingly, the name of PDP chairman, Uche Secondus (N200m) is on Lai Mohammed’s clownish ‘looters’ lists; that of Diezani that they claimed to have traced N47.2bn and $487.5m to was missing.
“Did FG lie against Diezani ab-initio or she is now baptized into APC comity of Saint Looters?
“Still about their corruption list, what happened to the NHIS Boss, Yusuf (sacked for fraud and reinstated by Buhari), Maina (the pension thief), NNPC boss, Baru ($25bn contract scam), Abba Kyari (N500m MTN scam) and others. Are they Saint Looters?”
APC, Presidency lie to Nigerians—Dr. Junaid Mohammed
Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, described the APC’s short list of names of alleged looters as an “anticlimax” after about three years of talking about fighting corruption and looting of public funds.
“I think Mohammed, his party and the President are guilty of the lies that they have been telling Nigerians. If indeed all the noise that has been made concerns only about five people, then something is wrong and I am certainly disappointed. So you are telling me that for the three years that you have been talking about corruption and promising to release the names of looters, you have been talking about only five people.
“If indeed they only had evidence that there are about five people who are responsible for our economic woes, then that to me sounds like a monumental anti-climax. There are quite a number of people who I believe are thieves and there is a substantial and overwhelming evidence against them and I believe the money they stole is known to people in the Presidency, the government and the EFCC. If they cannot recover the money, then forget about Nigeria, it is finished. And I don’t believe Lai Mohammed because he has lied so many times and if his own idea of politics is to abuse his position and lie to the people, then we are in a very serious trouble because the whole thing is cynical, untrue and you begin to wonder who is to be believed because this government is not believable.”
Secondus goes to court
Meanwhile, Secondus has reacted to the allegation saying the minister should be ready to “establish his allegations in court immediately.”
Mr. Ike Abonyi, media aide to Secondus, said in a statement that Mohammed was out to damage the PDP chairman’s reputation and tarnish the ongoing rebuilding of the party adding that such plan would fail.
The statement reads: “The attention of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has been drawn to a press conference addressed by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, claiming that the national chairman collected N200m from the purse of the National Security Adviser.
“Secondus is challenging Mr. Mohammed to be ready to establish his allegations in court immediately.
“The agenda of the minister is to damage his reputation and distract him from serving his party but he has failed woefully.
“For the purposes of some gullible public, Prince Secondus never collected any money from the NSA under any guise.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTS FROM PUNCH, PREMIUM TIMES
