The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress government to speak out on the N21 billion, guns and thousands of permanent voter cards (PVCs) allegedly found in the residence of the sacked director general of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Lawal Daura.
Spokesman for the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said in a statement in Abuja that the Buhari presidency had all along been diverting public attention from the humongous stealing going on in his administration by constantly harassing the opposition.
He said the alleged discovery “has not only exposed the hypocrisy of the Buhari Presidency, but has also stripped it of all integrity and brought its deceptive saintly posturing to a disgraceful end.”
“The world can now see that the PDP has not been raising a false alarm when it alerts that the Buhari presidency has been using its much hyped fight against corruption and sustained harassment of opposition as a cover to divert public attention from the humongous stealing going on under President Buhari’s official cover.
“Nigerians have now seen that while the Buhari presidency and the APC have been hounding and harassing opposition members with trumped-up corruption charges to create an impression of integrity and fight against corruption, their agents have been busy frittering away, and warehousing trillions of naira, ostensibly for their 2019 re-election and service their wasteful lifestyles, while millions of compatriots wallow in abject poverty across the nation.
“Today, the sneaky ways of this presidency have further been exposed and it must not in any way seek to disown the sacked DSS director general as Nigerians already know that he was merely one out of the numerous agents being used by the APC and presidency cabal in their nefarious activities, including warehousing money, fake PVCs and weapons to be unleashed during the 2019 elections.
“What the APC and the Buhari presidency should note is the eternal reality that though the truth may be suppressed for a while, it always has a way of showing itself to light at the end.
“Nigerians are already aware of the leaked memo detailing alleged underhand oil contracts to the tune of N9 trillion at the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the ministry of petroleum resources, which are under the direct supervision of Mr. President.
“They are already aware of the alleged stealing of over N25 billion, meant for the health needs of the people, from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and how the indicted and suspended Executive Secretary was recalled by Mr. President.
“They are aware of the alleged diversion of crude oil worth N1.1tr, using 18 unregistered companies; the diversion of N18 billion Internally Displaced Person (IDP) funds and billions of unremitted revenue from sale of crude for which there have been deadlock at the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), all of which are being swept under the carpet by the Buhari Presidency,” said Ologbondiyan.
Also, the former military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar (Rtd) called on the federal government not to stop at the sack of Daura, but also investigate him over assets handed over to him at the agency as well as uncover the reasons behind Daura’s alleged manoeuvres at the agency.
He said in a statement that the ex-DSS chief had several questions to answer, as his three-year administration at the DSS was characterised by “routinely ignoring court orders” and abusing human rights.
Umar said: “Without a doubt, the summary dismissal of Alhaji Lawal Daura came as a big surprise to many people. It seemed to contradict the world order. In the last three years, Daura had marched from one audacious act of impunity to another. He had rudely defied the President and had routinely ignored court orders.
“Given all the distress created by the actions of Daura, the decision to sack him did not come a moment too soon. And yet, in the interest of our democracy, in order to guard against unexpected threats and conspiracies, the action taken by the acting President must not stop halfway.
“The government should seek to discover the motives as well as the explanation for some of the crazy manoeuvres. The questions should include the following; where and in what condition are all the assets handed over to Daura by the immediate past director general, Mr. Ita Ekpenyong? What are the reasons why Daura deployed DSS operatives and prevented the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials from searching the residences of Ekpenyong and another former director general of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke?
“Why did he continue to ignore court orders allowing several people detained by him to be released on bail?”
